The Black Swordsman of Vale
by Undaed15
Summary: Takes place after the end of Volume 3, with the fall of Beacon and the death of Pyrrha, team RWBY is thrust into the mystery of a mysterious black swordsman who is killing the people who caused the destruction. Warning: Dark themes ahead. Also, in case you haven't figured it out, this is a AU.
1. Chapter 1

Adam groaned as the light shined into his eyes, his interrogaters were not being merciful, his mask stayed on, but his hair was greasy. His eyes burned as he looked around, Glynda Goodwitch stood over him, her face a mask of rage.

"Tell me, Mr. Tauras, why I shouldn't throw you to the nearest Beowolf?" The witch demanded, the faunas snarled back before a wave of pain shot through his arm, or rather…what was left of it. Adam snarled again at what remained of his stump, his right hand…gone. It was kind of funny, actually, it almost directly mirrored what he had done to that blond girl Blake was with.

"You think I give a damn about your threats?" Adam said, his face not changing, "No…I came to you because I got desperate."

"And why is that?" The former assistant to Beacon asked, the rage not leaving her face.

"Because…I'm safer here than with that black swordsman…" The faunas radical growled, his mouth turning into an even deeper frown…

 **A few hours earlier…**

Adam looked over the rundown bar with the remainder of his troops, most had either fled or had gotten to other commanders. The White Fang drank and danced, it had been a few weeks since they had managed to pull off their biggest victory against the humans. The destruction of Beacon, though not complete, and even though the dragon was currently frozen in place, had been a warning to all.

However, the victory was not on Adam's mind at that point, what was on his mind was these reports of this so called black swordsman. He had showed only a week ago, but his effects were catastrophic. All that was known was that he used a huge sword and wore a black cloak. So far…only a few survivors had managed to report back, some of them didn't even last through the night. Adam's fist clenched, this should have been a moment of triumph, Blake had lost her friends, Beacon had fallen, but this man shows up and ruined everything.

A random girl, a victim of the White Fangs looting of the city, was currently being forced to serve the White Fang members. They laughed and jeered as she tripped and fell over the feet on the drunk men, she could only whimper as she knew what fate awaited her…these were not kind men. She could only hope that they didn't kill her, but if only half of the stories were true…she might end up preferring that.

"Little girl," One of the White Fang said, grabbing her by the waist. He smiled as he slipped a hand under her shirt, she could only gasp as she felt the cool hand squeeze, and "We're going to have a fun time with you, aren't we?"

One of the White Fang next to him started to laugh, however…that was when a gunshot filled the air. The laughing man shot backwards, a bullet in his head. Every faces whirled around, each of them looking at the shooter. A man in black, a hood covered most of his features. All they could see was the blue eyes, full of hatred and disgust, the man fired a few rounds more…each hitting and killing a man. One of the White Fang, the one who was groping the girl, rushed forward to take the man's head.

The man in black simply reached over his shoulder and pulled out his weapon, which cleaved the White Fang in two. The faunas fell to the floor, screaming as he bled out, the serving girl stumbled back as the blood sprayed on her. She couldn't respond, this was too much for her, and she fell down, unconscious. Adam didn't miss a beat, he yelled as he surged forward, his katana gleaming red in the light of the bar lights.

The black swordsman didn't even seem fazed at the folded steel as he headed towards him, he brought his own blade up to bear. The two blades clashed, sparks flying, allowing Adam to see the full weapon. It was huge, fitting the description perfectly. It was about as big as that big teen in green who had fought in the tournament, and the swordsman didn't seem to be fazed by it's size at all. His speed was enough to keep up with Adam, the faunas couldn't get past his defense.

The black swordsman barreled into Adam, sending him a few steps back. The faunas smiled, he knew he could finish this in a single blow. Adam just had to get past this opponents defenses, the black swordsman brought his blade up to bear once again. The faunas rushed forward, believing his speed to be enough. That's when the swordsman dropped his blade and reached out, Adam grinned as he came closer. The fool thought to catch with his Aura? He'd show him the flaw with that strategy.

The hand closed around the katana and a resounding clang could be heard, the blade stopped inches away from the swordsman chest. Adam scoffed…right before the swordsman, grabbing his weapon with his other hand, swung it around and cut the faunas's hand clean off. Adam's face widened as the pain took hold, his aura starting to close the wound. The White Fang member leapt back, before turning around and running, the last thing he saw was that symbol on he mans neck…

 **Present time…**

Glynda listened to the tale with a worried glance to the glass of the room, she looked at Adam one last time before walking out. The door closed as the witch turned to the girl in the red hood, who stared at the glass in anger.

"Ruby…" Glynda started before the red head cut her off.

"I know, it's just…I can't believe it, the man who hurt my sister, the man who almost killed my teammate, the man who helped kill…Pyrrha, is sitting in that room…" Ruby said, her voice shaking with rage. Goodwitch sighed as she put her hand on the girls shoulder.

"Ruby…he did draw the symbol for us," Goodwtich said as she pulled out a slip of paper, "Recognize this?"

Ruby's eyes widened as she took in the sight…it was the symbol that Pyrrha wore on her shield.

"It's…but…she can't be…" Ruby stammered at the sight before she fell back on a nearby chair, "She's dead."

"I know Ruby, but there is someone else who might bear this symbol." Glynda started, sitting down next to the girl.

"Goodwitch, Jaune hasn't been seen in weeks, last time we saw him, he was a gibbering mess. I…I don't think he could do something like this." Ruby asserted, more than a little bit of shame coming into her voice. She was still recovering when she last saw the blonde knight, he was a shell of himself. He barely talked to her, he just seemed…blank.

"All right Ruby, I'm sorry you had to come all this way, but we needed you're testimony. With Ms. Ballodona and Ms. Xiao Long both out of the question, we needed you." Glynda said, her brow puzzled.

"What about Weiss? Surely she could have…" Ruby started, before Glynda cut her off.

"Ms. Schnee is currently in the custady of her father, he refuses to speak to us." The witch said as she sighed. Ruby's eyes watered at that, all of this…and she still couldn't see her best friend. She could still visualize it, her white hair and blue eyes…the reaper still missed it.

"Ma'me?" A soldier said as he walked in, Atlas uniform and all.

"Yes captain?" Goodwitch replied, her voice hard.

"We have assembled a transport for the prisoner, we're ready to move out." The soldier said as he snapped to.

"Good, put him on the truck and take him away." Goodwitch said, sadness still in her voice. Ruby got up and walked outside to the still destroyed city, the rubble had been barricaded but the Grimm dragon was still visible on Beacon. Ruby almost burst into tears at the sight, if she had been just a bit faster…she might have been able to save her…

The scythe weilder shook that thought out of her head, she had to be focused. The Grimm were still in the city and were always looking for something to eat, Ruby turned around to see Adam being brought through the compound. A transport truck was waiting for him, at least she could take some comfort in knowing that justice would be served to the man who hurt her team…

That's when she heard the sound of something being launched through the wind, she could only gasp as a red blue came out of the sky and slammed itself into Adam's chest. The faunas gasped as he slowly looked down, his own blade sticking out of his chest. The soldier all brought up their rifles, not sure of how to deal with this. Ruby eye's darted around, eventually falling on a lone figure on the nearest rooftop. A figure all clothed in black, Ruby, without a moments hesitation, suddenly raced forward, using her semblance to get up the wall. The figure ran across the roof, rounding a corner.

The reaper raced forward, only for the figure to shove out his blade's blunt side. Ruby barrled into it, the red head tripped as she fell down, rolling to the edge of the roof. She looked up, slightly groggy, but all she saw was the black swordsman walking towards her. Ruby couldn't keep her eyes open as she fell into darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

Yang walked off the airship with a scowl on her face, the sun radiated down on her golden hair, her right stump clearly visible for all to see. Many faces stared at her as she passed, she was known by everyone, the monster who broke an innocent boy's leg. The faces quickly turned around as she neared, fearing the same fate. Yang didn't care, she was angrier that she had to come find Ruby. However, beyond that façade of rage, she was truly frightened for her little sister.

Ruby had disappeared a week ago, it had taken that long for a message to get to Yang and their father. Taiyang completely collapsed, Qrow was watching him now, making sure he didn't do anything stupid. That left Yang to find her little sister, in the city of Vale, with Grimm, and White Fang running around. She also had a second goal, she needed to find someone else…and punch them in the face.

Yang arrived at the makeshift command center, two soldiers directed her inside. They followed her into the room with Goodwitch presiding.

"Thank you gentleman, you may leave." The woman ordered.

"Ma'me, we can't do that…we've already seen what this girl can do and…" The soldier started, right before Goodwitch's glare silence him.

"Leave." The woman ordered, the two soldiers gulped and practically ran out of the room.

"So…should I shake your hand?" Yang said, making a pun to cover her rage.

"Yang, I'm sorry to have brought you all this way…" Goodwitch started before Yang cut her off.

"No…I'm happy to be here," The sun dragon said sarcastically, "But this is what I'm wondering, how the hell did Ruby get kidnapped? You have an army, how the hell did the White Fang…"

"It wasn't the White Fang," Goodwitch cut her off again, "It was someone else, it was a mysterious man that we call the Black Swordsman."

"…A single person managed to get past your security and kidnap Ruby?!" Yang screamed with rage, taking a few steps forward.

"She ran after him, I'm sorry, but I couldn't give you the full story till you got here. Let me explain," Goodwitch said with a gesture at a chair, to which Yang took, "It all started a few weeks ago, a group of soldiers found a White Fang hideout completely ransacked, all of the men were dead, most of whom were killed in gruesome fashion."

"How bad?" Yang asked, the fire gone from her voice with the concern for Ruby coming into it.

"Bad, I have the pictures from the reports," Goodwitch said as she set them down, Yang's hand went to her mouth. The pictures showed images of dead men, not just stabbed or shot, but brutally hacked apart. The worst part was the meat hooks, the place had been a butcher shop before but the White Fang had taken it over, but some of the soldiers had been impaled and left to die, "These are just some of the reports."

"My…Dust." Yang said, her eyes tearing up at the thought of Ruby being stuck with this…monster.

"After this, we kept getting more reports of these kinds of findings, then, a week ago, we got something else," Goodwitch said as she slammed another file down, this one had a picture that Yang knew all too well, Adam Taurus, "He came to us seeking sanctuary…but something happened after he told us what he knew."

Goodwitch gestured for Yang to get up and she led her to a room, the blond girl gasped as she saw what was in it. Adam Taurus's dead body, with the bloody katana right next to it. His arm had been hacked off, giving him an ironic pose.

"He was killed on our front steps," Goodwitch continued, "Ruby saw it and tried to go after him, which was the last we saw of her."

"Is she…" Yang started before Goodwitch held up her hand.

"We don't think so, she doesn't fit the killers MO…and there is another factor, you may want to sit down for this." Goodwitch said with a gesture at a nearby chair.

"Uh…sure." Yang said, she had seen enough cop movies to know that this wasn't good.

"This is something that we've found at all the sites, this is the other MO that allowed us to identify him." Goodwitch said as she put down another photograph, Yang was really happy she was sitting down. The picture was of a symbol…the symbol of Pyrrha Nikos.

"But…that's impossible, she's dead." Yang said, her voice strained.

"Yes, me and your sister have gone over that, but…with recent events, we have reason to believe that the killer…is none other than Jaune Arc." Goodwitch said in a calm voice, only to have Yang burst out laughing.

"Really? Come on, I know Jaune, he would never stoop to being something like this guy." Yang said, though…more on hope that anything else.

"We discovered some hair on the katana that was thrown in Mr. Taurus's chest, we are still analyzing it, it was contaminated, but it matches the Arc lineage." Goodwitch said, her voice strained as well. It was clear that she didn't want to believe it either, while she might not have approved of Mr. Arc's character…he was still innocent.

"That's…it can't be true…" Yang started, right before a soldier burst in.

"Ma'me, we've got something you need to see." The man said, prompting the two women to follow him out. A symbol had been light on a nearby skyscraper, Pyrrha's symbol, one that used to inspire affection, now inspired fear amongst the soldiers.

"Yang, stay here, men, let's move!" Goodwitch ordered, the men snapping to as they readied themselves. Soon, the camp was clear of all except a few men, Yang sat down on a nearby crate, trying to wrap her head around this entire thing. Jaune Arc, that lovable blond idiot, a murderer? That just wasn't possible, then of course…he had been closest to Pyrrha. Had this just sent him over the edge?

As Yang though, she suddenly heard shots, she whirled around to see a soldiers head be blown completely off. Standing in his place? Someone she hated about as much as she hated Adam, Mercury.

"You know Blondie, it's good to see a friendly face," The grey haired boy said with a grin as he approached, Yang grit her teeth as she raised her one hand in defense, "However, I did say that next time there wouldn't be a next time, I don't like lying."

"Don't make a girl a promise if you know you can't keep it." Yang growled, she didn't even have Ember Celica to help her out now. Mercury smirked as he suddenly ran forward, launching himself forward in a kick. Yang dodged and landed a strike of her own, sending him flying into a stack of crates.

"So…you still got some fight left in you," Mercury said as he jumped up, "Gonna have some fun with this."

Yang charged forward, only for Mercury to deliver a kick to her chest, sending her back. Yang roared as she got to her feet, attempting to plant a fist into his chest. Mercury laughed as he dodged it, allowing Yang to fall on her face. He followed up with a kick to her stomach, sending to her back. Yang couldn't move, she couldn't activate her semblance, she was just…done.

Yang heart had been crushed, her own team turning against her after Mercury lied, Adam cutting off her arm, Blake abandoning her, Ruby running off, Jaune being a murderous psychopath, what was left for her? She had nothing, no heart, and no will to keep on living.

"What? No more fighting?" Mercury said as he stood over her, "I wanted to hear you scream, but…I've got a better idea."

As he said that, he suddenly reached down and ripped open her shirt, exposing her breast. Yang suddenly screamed as he grabbed the mounds, she tried to fight back but Mercury swatted her hands aside.

"There we go, going enjoy this." Mercury said as he lowered his lips to her neck, Yang cried out in disgust. He was going to do it, she could feel it in his touch, she didn't want this but…with everything that had happened…she couldn't find the energy to stop him. She had discovered something new, something called hell. She closed her eyes as tears fell down her face, Yang knew that she was done for.

"What the hell?" Mercury suddenly cried as a black form suddenly kicked him in the chest, sending him flying back. Yang gasped as she looked up at her savior, both in relief and in shock.

"Get the hell away from my partner!" Blake yelled, her voice teeming with pure rage. Mercury laughed as he got up.

"So…kittens here, at least now I've got a challenge." Mercury said as he charged forward again, launching himself into combat with the ninja. Yang could only watch as Blake and Mercury fought, Blake's speed matching Mercury's kicks blow for blow, her clones allowing her to back up and rush in for more powerful strikes. However, it soon became clear that something wasn't right, Blake was tiring out and Mercury wasn't breaking a sweat. He landed a kick on her that sent her stumbling back, the foot fighter laughed as he tried to kick her again.

That's when Blake laughed as she leapt back…creating an ice clone that Mercury's foot got stuck in.

"You bitch!" Mercury yelled as he tried to free his foot, the cat ran over to Yang and dragged her to her feet.

"Yang, we've got to go." She whispered gently as she led the girl away, Yang nodded as the pair started towards the gate.

"Not going to get away that easily." Mercury said as he broke the ice clone, walking towards them. The pair tried to move faster, but Blake's exhausted form collapsed shortly before the gates.

"Blake, get up!" Yang cried, trying to pull the cat to her feet.

"Yang…go, I'm sorry." Blake said with a sad grin.

"No! I'm not losing someone else," Yang yelled, "I've lost Pyrrha, I've lost Ruby, I'm not losing you!"

"Nice speech, but your Aura's fucked," Mercury said as he approached them, "You couldn't beat me…if…you…tried…"

Mercury's steps faltered as he looked beyond the pair, the two slowly turned to face what he was looking at. A black figure slowly approached them, in his hands, a huge blade, a black hood covered his face as he approached. The pair stared at the man, a grim reaper come to claim a soul, as he neared them. He stopped…then charged and leapt over them, Mercury yelped as he jumped back from the sword swing.

Blake and Yang could only watch as the two fought, Mercury's feet stood no chance against the huge sword. It deflected the legs at every turn, and for every time Mercury got one hit in, it seemed like it didn't hurt the swordsman at all. In one last attempt at dispatching his opponent, Mercury jumped up and kicked at the man's head…only for the bullet to bounce off, only damaging the hood.

All three present stared at the man behind the hood, Yang gasped at the face. Jaune Arc looked horrible, his long, greasy hair hung to his scalp, stubble graced his face, Pyrrha's symbol was branded into his neck roughly, like he had done it himself, but his eye…by Dust his eye. It had been gouged out, roughly, scar tissue grace the area around it. Someone had taken a knife and had a field day with it, his other eye looked more like it belonged to a soldier in a war than to a young teenager.

Jaune grabbed Mercury and threw him across the ground, the two girls watched as he moved forward.

"Nice legs," The black swordsman said as he grabbed one of them, his voice had barely changed, it seemed angrier, more…deadly, "Mind if I take one?"

Mercury screamed as Jaune set his foot on the grey haired kid's crotch and pulled one of the legs, the teen could feel the pain as the leg started to give way, the tearing sound was heard and could be seen by all as the leg was pulled. Soon, it gave way, tearing muscle, bone, and sinew along with it. Mercury's scream could be heard as his Aura sealed the wound up, he was very happy as his Aura was mainly full. Didn't stop him from passing out though.

The two girls stared at him as he turned, the leg in his hands. His eye suddenly snapped to them, both girls jumping as it did. Jaune looked them over, then walked away, disappearing into the city. Blake and Yang stared at the sight, not knowing what to do or what to say.

 **A few hours later…**

"Girls, I've got news." Goodwitch said, the two girls had been put into the command center, both with no idea what to say.

"What? Did you find Ruby?" Yang asked.

"How's Mercury doing?" Blake asked, a bit more hatred in her voice.

"Mercury…the grey haired boy will live," Goodwitch said, Blake growled at that, "But…he'll never walk without the assistance of crutches, Jaune Arc made sure of that."

"What about Ruby?" Yang asked, jumping to her feet.

"Yang…this is all we found, I'm sorry." Goodwitch said, a tear forming in her eye. She pulled out a red bundle and unrolled it, revealing a red cloaked…soaked in blood and cut in half.

 **And a second chapter down, first things first. Thanks to both SKULLMAN159 and Heart of Steel 1994, your stories inspired me to get my ass in gear and write this son of a bitch.**

 **Second, credit were credit's due, Thanks to Zivon96 for giving me the idea about Mercury's leg (and tolerating my crazy idea for FF.)**

 **And finally…thanks to all of the readers, seriously, this is one of the most popular stories I've written and I'm just happy that I can entertain you all. (Shameless plug) Feel free to check out my other stories if you'd like.**

 **Overall, hope you enjoyed, stay tuned for the next chapter (whenever that may be.) Read and Review please.**


	3. Chapter 3

"Yang, the blood's contaminated, it might not Ruby's." Blake said in an attempt to reassure the girl, but Yang was having none of it.

"Ruby would never let anything happen to that cloak, it belonged to her mother. It's all she had left of her!" Yang yelled, Blake was happy that Glynda had given them a separate tent from everyone else but she knew that at least some of the soldiers had heard that outburst, "Jaune…Jaune…what happened to him?"

"Hm?" Blake asked, slightly confused by the question, Yang pulled her head up.

"Jaune…what happened to him? How did he lose that eye? Why did he do this? What happened to the lovable idiot that hit on Weiss all the time?" Yang asked, only to stop as she saw the tears in Blake's own eyes.

"I…I know how he lost that eye, I could have stopped it, if I had…" Blake said as tears started flowing from her own eyes.

"What do you mean?" Yang asked, concern like no other coming into her face.

"It was a while ago…" Blake began.

 **Insert Flashback…**

Blake looked over the warehouse, her hand tight on her blade. She had been scouting this place out for a while now and was ready make her move, Adam was here and he was her target. She grit her teeth at the thought of him, she could see the blade passing through Yang's arm, she could hear her cry of pain, she could smell the blood that should have flowed.

Blake wanted revenge and she intended to claim it, she readied herself to jump…but stopped suddenly, she heard someone calling orders and then? Silence, Blake leaned over to see that someone was being dragged roughly into the warehouse, she saw a bright flash of blonde. Blake shook her head, it couldn't be Jaune or Yang, it just couldn't. She heard a door open, she looked to the side and watched her prey leave the building, Adam Taurus.

She looked at him with such deep hatred that he almost felt it, but she couldn't bring herself to attack. That flash of blonde hair kept her standing still, it wasn't possible…but she had to be sure. The cat faunas leapt across the rooftop, landing silently on her feet. The warehouse didn't have any guards on the rooftop, but she still had to be careful. She ran over to a skylight, she could see all the cargo containers but her target was nowhere to be seen.

She almost left until she saw someone that she didn't expect to see, Cinder Fall and her lackeys entering a room. Blake ran over to the side of the building, thankfully, there was a fire escape for her to stand on. She looked inside a window and barely had time to suppress her gasp. Jaune Arc, the goofball idiot, was tied to a chair, he looked horrible, his hair was long and greasy, his chin was covered with stubble, and his two eyes stared at the trio in the room with more hatred than Blake had ever seen in all her days.

"Jaune Arc," Cinder said, approaching the teen, Jaune didn't say anything, "Do you mind telling me why you are here?"

Jaune didn't say anything, Cinder smiled as she took in his form. She knew that she could find endless enjoyment in breaking this one, but…even Cinder was taken a bit aback by his eyes. She hadn't interacted with him much…but even she could see the deepest darkest pit of hell in those eyes. They didn't belong on that body, but Cinder had to ignore those eyes as Mercury interrupted her.

"Why don't we just kill him and be done with it?" The assassin asked, cruelty shining in his eyes.

"Mercury, we don't exactly need too," Emerald said as she looked at the silver haired boy, "Besides, he might have good Intel that could help us."

"What, this clown?" Mercury said as he pointed at Jaune, "This guy could barely hold his own in a pissing contest, there's no possible way he could know anything. He's just Pyrrha Niko's sloppy seconds, I don't know why…"

Mercury's rant was cut off by Jaune Arc's snarling, the silver haired teen took a few steps back as Jaune struggled against the ropes holding him down. The trio watched as they stretched, they watched as Jaune's hands arms bled, and all that time? His eyes didn't leave Mercury, he wanted so desperately to tear out the fool's throat with his teeth.

An arrow flew out and pinned the teen's shirt to the chair, Cinder took a deep breath. She turned to Mercury with a frown.

"Emerald and I are going to check on our allies Dust supplies, it won't take us long. You'll be in charge of him, don't antagonize him." Cinder said as she looked at Mercury with a snarl, right before she and Emerald walked out. Blake had a sneaking suspicion that Cinder hoped that the silver haired boy would antagonize Jaune and pay for it.

The silver haired boy looked around the room, but again, his eyes fell to the teen in the chair. Mercury smirked as he walked over, leaning in close.

"You know…there wasn't anything you could have done," The silver haired teen said in a low voice, Jaune raised his head, "You couldn't have saved her, she didn't stand a chance. She was just a dumb bitch who…"

Mercury was cut off when Jaune slammed his head forward, smashing Mercury's face with his forehead. Blake could hear the crack of his nose breaking, the teen fell back, blood draining from his wound.

"Bastard," Mercury muttered, wiping his nose clean. The silver haired teen got to his feet, his eyes ablaze with rage. He looked around, his eyes stopping at a screw driver on the floor nearby, "OK, let's try this."

Mercury grabbed a random rag and shoved it into Jaune's mouth as a gag, then he grabbed Jaune's head.

"Let's give you some perspective." The assassin said…right before jamming the screwdriver into Jaune's eye, the silver haired teen twisted and turned, lacerating even more of the poor teens face, blood spurted from the wound, covering Mercury and Jaune.

"Mercury!" Emeralds voice brought the assassin out of his stupor, he whirled around to see Emerald running forward, shoving him out of the way. The thief leaned over, ripping the rage out and putting it into the eye to stop the bleeding, "Get out…"

"But…" Mercury started before Emerald cut him off.

"NOW!" The girl screamed, shocking Mercury and prompting him to exit. Emerald ripped off part of her shirt to wipe more of the blood off, doing her best to not hurt the injured teen.

"Why did you stop him?" Jaune asked, his voice low and deep.

"I…I jus…" Emerald started before bursting into tears, "She wasn't supposed to die…she wasn't supposed to be there…she wasn't supposed to fight…she…she wasn't supposed to die…"

"Tell me something Emerald," Jaune said as he looked up at her, "When she died, when…all that chaos happened, did you feel sorrow? Did you feel regret? Why did you do it?"

"I…I…I just wanted people to stop looking down at me, stop calling me street rat, Cinder made me feel like I was doing something, like I was…" Emerald stammered, her emotions on full display…that' also when she realized something, "Jaune…why didn't you scream?"

"The pain? It's nothing compared to what I felt when Pyrrha was killed," Jaune said in a dead tone of voice, "I'm going to make Cinder, Mercury, Adam, all of them suffer…I'll spare you."

"What? Why?" Emerald asked, confused at the statement. Jaune smiled, his face growing grotesque because of the empty eye socket.

"Because…you're already suffering because of your choices, don't worry…you'll get over them." Jaune said, right before the rope on his left arm snapped and a hand closed around Emeralds throat. The thief gasped as Jaune closed off her air, before gingerly letting her down. She wasn't dead, Blake could see the rise and fall of her chest.

"Let's go…" Jaune said aloud, Blake looked around for someone, but all she saw was Jaune vanish into what appeared to be shattered glass…

 **Back to the present…**

"If I had jumped in, talked to him, maybe I could have helped him." Blake said, her voice wavering. Yang quickly wrapped her hands around the cat girl's shoulder, giving her comfort.

"Blake, we need to track down Jaune, we need answers." The blonde said in a deadly tone, Blake looked up and nodded. That's when Goodwitch stormed inside, her face was alight with anger.

"Which one of you sent a transmission to Atlas?" The witch demanded, shocking both of the girls.

"Wait, what?" Yang asked, confusion evident on her face.

"Someone sent a transmission to Atlas, barring the fact that the tower is down and that should be impossible," Goodwitch said harshly, her eyes alight with anger and curiosity, "It also managed to get into the Schnee persona records and send the message right to Weiss Schnee, which one of you did it?"

"Ma'me, I'm sorry but," Blake said, her voice hushed and quiet, "But neither of us would know how to do that."

"It would have to be you, you two are the only ones who know…of…Ruby's current…oh my Dust." Goodwitch said as slow realization took hold of her and the two teens.

"How could Jaune have sent a message? He has no background in that kind of field." Blake said, her voice soft and quiet.

"Let's chalk it up to other unexplained things that's happened the past few days, what did the message say?" Yang asked the still shocked professor.

"It said…" Goodwitch began…

 **In Atlas, in the Schnee mansion…**

"Ruby Rose may be in trouble," Weiss read aloud to no one, "She has been kidnapped for some time now and we have recently received evidence that she might be dead at the hands of a new player, codenamed 'The Black Swordsman.' We understand that this might be difficult to process, but we recommend you not to do anything rash."

Weiss looked around her room, it was a grand affair, a vanity, dressers, a huge bed, but all of it seemed pointless right now. Ruby was…dead? That…that wasn't possible, that bubbly young girl who had shown her kindness, who had accepted her for who she was, who had…cared for her despite her cold attitude….dead? Weiss grit her teeth as she threw her scroll across the room in frustration, it smacked the wall with barely a sound.

She walked over to her vanity and stared into the mirror, her eyes filling with tears. Why? Why was she feeling this bad? She wanted to track down this "Black Swordsman," and skin him alive, she wanted him dead, and she wanted him to suffer. Why couldn't she get that smile, those eyes, that smell out of her head? Weiss could feel the desire to touch Ruby's head again, to hear that voice, to be…with her again.

Weiss started laughing, so that's what it was…she, heiress, ice queen, hunter, had fallen for Ruby Rose, her leader and partner. No wonder these feelings came up…and she would never be able to tell Ruby her feelings. She looked at the mirror, at that scar on her eye. This "Black Swordsman," whoever he was…was a dead man, she was going to make sure of that. The heiress whirled around and opened her closet, there was Myrtenaster, she grabbed it and started off for the dock.

The maids and butlers gave her a wide birth, they only needed to make one look into those eyes to know that she was not to be trifled with. She stormed her way to the dock captain, who looked like a deer caught in the head lights.

"Prep a ship, I'm going to Vale." The heiress ordered, the dock orderlies scrambling to avoid her gaze.

"Ms. Schnee, I'm sorry but I can't allow that, Vale is dangerous and your father would…" His rambling was cut short as Weiss whipped out her blade and pressed it to his throat.

"I'll repeat myself, prep…a…ship." Weiss said in a warning tone, but the captain suddenly gained a little bit of bravery.

"No, I will not, I cannot have…" The captain started, right before a blow to the back of the head knocked him out.

"So…is this how you conduct yourself amongst the help?" Winter's voice had no effect on Weiss, who merely uttered a un-heiress like snarl.

"Don't get in my way, Winter." Weiss said through gritted teeth, she had no intention of letting her older sister stop her.

"You're luck your my little sister, otherwise I'd correct your tone," Winter said with a grin, before moving closer to Weiss. The sword point mere centimeters from her chest, "I'm not here to stop you."

"What?" Weiss asked, clearly confused.

"I was stopping here to refuel when a message was sent to me by Ironwood," Winter said as she looked to a nearby ship, "He said that Atlas servers had gotten a message from Vale, addressed to you about Ruby Rose and the Black Swordsman."

"So what?" Weiss asked, clearly confused.

"He was sending me to investigate the Black Swordsman to begin with, and he wanted me to ask you if you'd like to help me in my investigation." Winter said with a grin.

"Why would he want my help?" Weiss asked, clearly more confused.

"Let's talk on the ship, that information is a tad…classified," Winter said as she started leading Weiss onto the airship, the crew members not batting an eye as she came on. She lead Weiss to the captains quarters and shut the door, "What I'm about to tell you is a secret, you may only share this with those you deem necessary."

"OK." Weiss answered, ready to do anything to head out.

"First things first, what do you know of the Freelancer project?" Winter asked, making Weiss give her a strange look.

"It was Atlas attempting to create power armor soldiers, but the system was too much for the average soldier to handle, so they implemented AI's to help pilot them," Weiss began, "However, the project was shut down after the Meta incident, which was only stopped by a group of red and blue rank soldiers. After that, Power Armor experiments were shut down to reallocate assets to Mech development, why?"

"That's the way it went down, project Freelancer was shut down, but…two years ago, a new project was begun," Winter said as she pulled up a screen, it showed a suit of black armor, "It was named project Berserk, the result was the Berserker Armor."

"That's…" Weiss stammered, the armor was intimidating just on the screen, "Terrifying."

"It is, the suit allowed the user to achieve feats of superhuman strength, speed, and durability, though nothing compared to the Freelancer armor," Winter said before taking a breath, "But it's real benefit was its unique Dust system."

Winter pressed a few keys and Weiss could see the entire system, she gasped. It was more akin to iron maiden than anything else, needles seemed to stretch all across it. That was before she looked at the Dust that it would use, she took one look…and almost fell down in shock.

"Beast Dust?" She whispered as she grabbed a nearby chair to steady herself, "Winter…they weren't…they couldn't…that's…Dust."

"As you clearly know, Beast Dust is an extremely rare Dust that's known for its…effects," Winter said with a firm voice, "It boost Aura levels, seals off the users nervous system, and reduces them to a blood hungry state."

"That stuff is dangerous Winter!" Weiss yelled, grabbing Winter and shaking her, "Please tell me you didn't use this suit!"

"I didn't," Winter said as she gently pushed Weiss's hand away, "The suit was designed to regulate it and, if need be, introduce a counter Dust to calm the effects. The suit was deemed too dangerous to use, however and was sealed away at a top secret location."

"Until now…" Weiss said, figuring out the punch line.

"Yes, we have reason to believe that the armor was taken and is being used by this 'Black Swordsman,' Ironwood has ordered by to investigate." The older Schnee sister said as she sat down on her bed.

"And why does he want me?" Weiss asked, still confused on that note.

"Because…we have reason to believe that the Black Swordsman may be no other than Jaune Arc." Winter replied, only to get a laugh from Weiss.

"Nice one," Weiss said, obviously not believing, even when Winter gave her a death stare, "Jaune Arc loved Ruby like a little sister, he would never hurt her."

"That may be so," Winter said, "I hope he isn't responsible, but with the death of his partner Pyrrha, he might have snapped."

"Trust me, that dumb idiot would never hurt Ruby." Weiss said with finality.

"I'll take your word for it, but I do have another matter to show you," Winter said as she walked over to her desk and pulled out a small briefcase, Weiss's eyebrows went up, "Ironwood called it an apology to one of your teammates."

Weiss opened the case to reveal…a golden prosthetic hand, chambered for shotgun shells.

 **And that's the end of that, now before I go I do have some words for all of you. Thank you so much for following/faving this story, it's quickly become the most popular story on my account and that is really encouraging. Seriously, over 50 faves at this point, it's so encouraging to me that I get to have so many people wanting to keep reading this story.**

 **And, as always, Read and Review, it's the only way to make this story's quality better!**


	4. Chapter 4

Yang, Blake, and Goodwitch watched the Atlas ship land, their eye's heavy with exhaustion as they looked upon the beast of metal. Yang had barely slept the last few days, not even Blake could help her, she was starting to reach the point where she wanted to ask the doctors for some drugs to help, but if she did that…then the nightmares would come. Dreams of watching Ruby die, of watching Blake die, of watching Pyrrha die…they always ended the same though…Jaune Arc, wearing that black armor and hood walking towards her with sword in hand.

The doors to the ship opened, bringing the blonde brawler out of her thoughts. That's when the trio's eyes widened at the sight of their old team member walking out. She had had a wardrobe change, she was now wearing a blue dress with her rapier at her side. Weiss looked like a true princess now…and then her demeanor changed when she saw Blake and Yang. Her eyes teared up as she started running, grabbing the pair in a hug.

"Blake," She whispered as she squeezed tighter, "Yang."

"Hey there, Ice Queen," Yang said as she returned the hug, "how's it going?"

"Don't…" Weiss said with a slight edge, "Just…let me have this…"

Yang smiled as she nodded, Weiss didn't need a talk…she just needed to hug her teammates, her family, close to her again. Blake nodded as well as she took her former enemy into a hug as well, they all needed this. They needed this more than words, more than vengeance, they needed to hold each other again.

"I believe that's enough hugging for today," Winter's voice brought them out of their special moment, the gang turned around to see the older Schnee sister with a box, "Weiss, I believe this is your right to give."

"Yes," Weiss said as she regained her composure, returning to her older sister, "Yang, Ironwood sends this with his apologies."

The younger Schnee opened the box to reveal the gauntlet, in the bright light, it shined like a great gold beacon. Yang's face lit up at the sight, just the thing to get her mind out of the gutters. The brawler walked up to the case, drawing the arm out. It was a little on the heavy side, but still…it was an arm.

"Nice, when do I get to try it out?" The blonde asked, her eye's glowing with anticipation.

"It will take time to make sure it works properly, but the surgeon on my ship should be able to help." Winter answered, gesturing towards a man with a mustache and a medic outfit.

"I recommend that we…" The doctor began, only for Yang to walk by and grab him and start dragging him away. She wasn't waiting for this, she needed this arm yesterday.

"Now that that's over," Winter said as she turned to Goodwitch, "We need to talk."

"That's a major understatement," Goodwitch said with a sigh, "Come with me, we've set up a command center in the middle of camp."

Winter nodded as they started off, Weiss and Blake following in tow.

 **On the ship…**

"Ms. Long," The doctor said as she lay down on the operating table, "I must warn you, this process, especially if you wish for this to be done as soon as possible, will be extremely painful."

"How so?" The blonde asked, not even a little bit of concern coming into her voice. The doctor picked up a disc like object.

"First, this will need to be inserted, now…usually, we take a few days for this as painkillers affect the readings. This device will be able to receive impulses from your nervous system, allowing you to move it like it was your own arm." The doctor replied, readying the disc.

"So…I assume the quick way is to go no painkillers?" Yang asked, presenting her stump.

"Correct, once again…we can take the days and…" The doctor started before a glare from the blond cut him off, "All right."

The doctor laid the girls head back on the table, strapping her legs and arms down. He sighed as he pressed a button on the disc, the device separating into three connected pieces. He pressed it against the stump, the device closed, cutting the excess flesh and bone off. Blood poured out as Yang screamed, the pain being almost unbearable as the doctor did his work. The computers flashed as he ran over, observing the simulation and the data as the nerves connected.

Yang's screams filled the air once again as they echoed throughout the ship and into the camp, barely a whisper by the time it reached the command center, not powerful enough to pierce the concrete. Goodwitch stood over a map of the city, pointing at it with her crop. Various red circles and X's marked the map.

"The circles are sightings of Jaune Arc," Goodwitch said as she pointed at the X, "These are sites where he attacked various factions, White Fang, gangs, and some Grimm."

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Weiss jumped in, prompting the witch to look at her, "How do we know it's Jaune? I mean, Jaune was never capable of beating anyone on his own, how could he possibly do this?"

"Weiss," Blake said, giving her friend a sad look, "its Jaune…I saw him with my own eyes. Both me and Yang watched him as he ripped Mercury's leg off."

"Speaking of which," Winter cut in, "Where is the boy Mercury?"

"He was in the med bay, but he was taken away by some Atlas personal. Special Ops, wore black and blue." Goodwitch answered, the older Schnee sister thoughtfully scratched her chin.

"I know of them, they don't have a name, but they operate within jurisdiction of Atlas. Where are they now?" Winter asked, getting a disappointed look from Goodwitch.

"Their ship was taken down by a Nevermore, no survivors could be recovered." The teacher answered, the older Schnee sighed as she looked back at the map.

"Back to Jaune, have you not discovered his base of operations?" She asked, looking over said map.

"With all the Grimm, gangs, and the White Fang, it's become difficult to investigate anything. All we know is that he appears and disappears into the city, usually leaving a trail of bodies." The witch answered back, Winter nodded as she looked at Weiss and Blake.

"You two," Winter said in a commanding tone, "After Ms. Long recovers, find me. Make sure to be ready to go into the city, we need to catch Jaune Arc before he causes any more damage."

"Winter, if I might ask," Weiss interjected, "Is he not helping? He's killing the White Fang and is tracking down Cinder…isn't that why we're here?"

"Such a young girl," Winter muttered, "Jaune Arc violent attacks violate several codes of law and honor, second, he's using stolen Dust and possible Atlas tech. third, he is able to get past Atlas firewalls and get a signal out of Vale without the tower, and there are multiple reason to track him down."

"Oh…" Weiss replied as she hung her head, Blake put her arm around her friend.

"Let's go I'll show you to our quarters," Blake said as she led Weiss out. The pair walked along each other, various soldiers going about their duties around them, finally, they arrived at a tent separated from the others. Blake led the heiress inside, three cots were set up, "Home sweet home."

"It's…cozy." Weiss said with a forced smile, a bare cot that was set aside for her was next to one with a white trench coat that the heiress could practilly see the cat hair. She noticed that one, this one with one of Yang's Ember Celica on it, was set…kind of far away.

"Yang hasn't been sleeping well," Blake said as she saw the heiress looking, "She's been swinging in her sleep, I don't know what she's dreaming about but it's bad."

"Blake…" Weiss said as she sat down, the cat faunas looking at her, "It's…it's really Jaune, isn't it? He's become a psychopathic killer…"

"I know," Blake said as she sat down, "This shouldn't have happened. Not to him."

"It's…how did all of this come to pass? We shouldn't be fighting a war, we should be in class, debating lectures, comparing notes, going on dates…how did it come to this?" Weiss whispered as she put her head in her hands.

"I don't know," The cat faunas replied, "Maybe something could have been done to avoid this, maybe this is all a dream…maybe this was just fate…"

"I…I…Blake…you don't think that Jaune killed Ruby…do you?" The heiress asked.

"I don't know," Blake answered, putting her hand on Weiss's shoulder, "If you asked me that question three months ago, I would have thought it impossible…now? I don't even recognize myself anymore."

"It's just that…I don't think I can bare not being able to see her again," Weiss whimpered, "I…I fell for her, I can still smell her hair, I can see her eyes. I need to find her."

"It's OK Weiss," Blake said as she hugged the heiress tight, ignoring the fact that Weiss just confessed that she loved their leader, "We'll find him…and get some answers."

 **Meanwhile…**

Yang walked the streets of Vale, despite the doctor's protest, she intended on testing this new arm. She made a fist with it, her other arm bore the second Ember Celica gauntlet. The arm was still a bit stiff, a slight amount of chafing, but it felt good. The weight was a tad off, but she would get used to it. It was a very advanced bit of cybernetics, she could feel the air on it even. She cracked her knuckles, it was high time for her to beat the ever living shit out of something.

The blonde brawler could hear the Grimm around the corner, she grinned as she rounded it. The Grimm, just some Beowolves, all turned and snarled at her. It was a group of five, the perfect number to get her mind off of things. Two of them charged, the youngest, she quickly dodged one of their strikes, turning and landing one of her own.

The Grimm went flying into a building, turning to ash as it splattered against the wall. The other growled as it charged as well, this time, Yang swung her new arm. She could feel the impact, the shattering of whatever the Grimm equivalent of bones, throughout her arm. It felt great, she whirled around to dodge another claw strike. Two more had jumped in, both tried to stay close, hitting her and dashing back.

That's when Yang smiled as her hair glowed golden, the creatures charged…and where obliterated by a single punch. Yang laughed as she whirled around to face the last Grimm…only to see it stare at her…right before falling down dead. The blonde brawler head shot up to look at her savior, she was taken aback by the sight.

Standing before her, atop a black horse, stood a figure clad in black. All Yang could see was the sword in its hand and its helm…a skull.

"Uh…thanks?" The blonde said in a warning tone, ready to fight if need be. The figure looked at her, its eye glowing white, right before it turned around and started away, "Hey, wait!"

Yang chased the figure as it rounded a corner, she rounded said corner and saw it go around another. She ran around that corner and came across…three men kicking what appeared to be a small girl. The girl was curled into a ball, trying to stop the pain but the men weren't having it. Yang stared at them all, none of them had noticed her yet.

She saw what the men looked like, covered in tattoos, wearing black hoods. She knew them, a new gang in town. They called themselves Kushuns, known for using exotic weapons in combat and being quite deadly with them. They rarely took prisoners, Yang took a few steps forward…and pause as she looked at the girl. Yang recognized that hair, a mixture of pink and black. It was the girl who had beaten her on the train.

Yang silently snarled as she turned away, ignoring the whimpers…for a few seconds. She turned around, cursing herself as she started forward. She had no reason to help her, after all, this person had tried to kill her…but, even after that, Yang couldn't do it. She couldn't leave her here, the first of the gang members turned…and got a fist in the face. The others tried to turn…but got launched back, the trio all landed on their backs.

They got up, took one look at Yang's red eyes…and took off running, it wasn't worth risking their lives for. Yang sighed as she got to her knees, looking over the girl. She had been beaten pretty badly, the brawler sighed again as she picked the small girl up. The blonde knew that should would get hell for this…but she couldn't just leave this girl here.

 **Later…**

"Absolutely not!" Goodwitch yelled, slamming her crop down.

"But…she doesn't have anywhere to go!" Yang yelled back, her hands clenching. They were in the med bay, the girl was currently handcuffed to a bed.

"She is one of the people who attacked the Atlas flagship, she tried to kill you, and is a known associate of the late Roman Torchwick!" Goodwitch yelled back, both Blake and Weiss cowering behind her in fear. The girl's eyes came up at that point, the name getting a reaction…right before she looked down, looking even more depressed, "She will not be staying her, besides…where would we put her? We're running out of space as it is, the only reason you and the rest of your team have a separate tent is because of decency's sake!"

"Then she can sleep with us! We've got room!" Yang fired back, her eyes turning red.

"Wait, what?" Weiss jumped in.

"Same here, what?" Blake yelled as she started approaching.

"You heard me, she can stay with is," Yang fired back, pointing at the girl, "Look, she's been beaten up, and she clearly has nowhere to go. If she did, then why was she out alone? That's dangerous and stupid!"

"And yet you did it," Goodwitch fired back before looking over the girl before her eyes perked up, "Actually…Yang Xiao Long…are you willing to take responsibility for this girl?"

"Yes." Yang answered, as much as she hated to admit…she couldn't leave the girl alone.

"She is in your care then," Goodwitch said, "She's a former associate of Torchwick and his allies…see if she can't help us track them down. She will also be staying in your tent…that is all."

Yang watched Goodwitch, followed by Blake and Weiss leave. She let out a breath that she had been holding as she turned to face the girl, who looked up at Yang nervously. Yang smiled as she reached down and removed the cuffs.

"I'm Yang, pleased to meet you, what's your name?" The blonde brawler said as she held out her hand, the girl stared at it before slowly taking it. She pulled herself close to Yang's ear, "Neo…OK Neo, I'm going to trust you, and you're going to have to trust me. As I said…right now, I'm your only friend."

The girl nodded as Yang led her out, the silent Neo inwardly groaned. She was stuck here, wasn't she?

 **In the command tent…**

"Why did you let her stay?!" Winter yelled as she entered Goodwitch's office, the witch was enjoying a cup of coffee.

"Simple," The teacher said, "As Ms. Long said…this girl, Neo I believe her name was, does have no choice. That little bit in the med bay? A show."

"Why?" Winter asked, her voice lowering in confusion.

"Because…we've been tracking her, she's an associate of Jaune Arc. With luck…she'll lead us to him." The witch said with a smile as she took a sip of coffee.

 **Later, at WBY's tent…**

Neo silently groaned as she listened to Yang's worried murmurs, the brawler was having a nightmare and the silent girl couldn't sleep. She got to her feet, the girl looking at her…savior. Yeah, that was the only word for her, Neo berated herself for getting so careless. Those three had managed to sneak up on her, her of all people. The most silent person in all of Vale got jumped by three gangsters, Neo suddenly jerked back to the present as she realized that she had been walking closer to Yang.

The girl looked at the blonde…and could barely make out the murmur.

"Please, don't go…" Yang moaned, holding out her hands. Neo, not sure what to do, reached out and took them. Maybe she could calm down the brawler so she could sleep, that's when Yang pulled her close and into her cot and clutched her firmly, "Your back, I was so worried about you…"

Neo pouted as Yang started stroking her hair…the silent girl was going to have to sleep in this bed tonight apparently. Well, at least those nice tits provided some padding…and, Neo couldn't deny, the head stroking was actually kind of nice. She felt…wanted…

 **At the entrance…**

"Hold, who are you?" The soldier said as he pointed his gun at the figure in a green hood.

"My name is Emerald Sustrai…I've come to surrender."


	5. Chapter 5

"That's right, bitch, right there." The guard captain said as the dark skinned girl held his cock in her mouth, he had been selected to interrogate this…Emerald chick and, despite her not telling him anything, she was sure as hell giving him a good time. Winter groaned through the two way glass as she watched the man laughing with his dick out on the table, Emerald groaning as she kept the illusion up.

It had been a week since the thief had shown up on their doorstep and they had gotten nowhere with her, the Weiss and the rest of her group where understandably anxious, especially Yang. Emerald had managed to turn the entire world against her, after all, but that wasn't the most infuriating thing for Winter. No, the most infuriating thing was that this goddamned girl was making anyone she sent in there to interrogate her look like a fool.

This was the third man this week and she still had made no progress! Winter grit her teeth as she reached for the microphone.

"Captain, get out of there." She ordered, the captain looked around quickly as the illusion wore off. He looked at Emerald and snarled as he turned, not wanting to risk the wrath of Winter. As he exited Winter walked over to him, slapped him, and stormed into the room. Emerald eye's focused as she readied herself for a cast, but, before she had time to react, Winter grabbed her.

"Why are you here?" Winter growled as she lifted the girl up, "Why? Dear Dust, this is probably the worst place for you, why would you risk coming here? Why damnit, why?"

Emerald stared into the woman's eyes before she shifted her gaze down, Winter dropped her. The specialist turned and stormed out, slamming the door behind her. She stormed out of the head building, Yang and the gang were all on the outside. Neo stood behind the trio, slightly abashed.

"She talk yet?" Yang asked, Winter sighed as she turned to face the four.

"No…no she hasn't, we're working on though." The woman said as she sat down on a nearby crate.

"Let me at her," Yang said, cracking her knuckles, "I've got a score to settle."

"I'll keep that in mind," Winter answered, "But for now? Keep an eye out for Jaune Arch, if he discovers that we have Emerald Sustrai, he might do something drastic."

"Good," Weiss said, crossing her arms, "He might finally get what he deserves."

Yang, Blake, Winter, and Neo all looked at Yang in a slightly pitying tone. They had all figured out what she had felt for Ruby, and they knew how hard it was going to be to for her to move on, if she ever could. Winter opened her mouth to start talking when a soldier came running up to her, he was followed by a small group of people pushing a cart with a tarp on it. The doctor followed as well, his eyes looking at the ground in shock.

"Ma'me, you need to see this." The doctor said as he pulled the tarp off, the group all recoiled as they looked at the subject. It was the corpse of a man, wearing Atlas captain gear. His face was frozen in a mask of fear, his twisted body was on full display, but the most striking feature was the cut in his shoulder. It was jagged, the left arm was barely hanging on by a few tendrils of flesh.

"Captain Howdy, he's been missing for three days, where did you find him?" Winter asked as she regained her composure.

"We found him in the white district, near a brothel. We asked around and discovered that he was employing…subjects of questionable age." The doctor said, looking around uncomfterbly.

"And, what did that?" Winter said, pointing at the wound, knowing the answer.

"A large blade, but…this one wasn't a cut Ma'me," The doctor said, earning an odd look from the group, "I looked over it, it would seem that he was impaled and then…left on the blade until his own weight dragged him down."

"Dust," Winter whispered, "What else can you tell me?"

"Nothing that you haven't figured out already, he was, after all, in charge of Emeralds custody." The doctor said, turning away from the commander.

"That means that…" Blake whispered, her eyes widening.

"It means that Jaune knows that Emerald is here," Weiss said, her fist clenching, "That means he's coming."

Winter snapped to her feet as she walked to the nearest guard.

"Get the captains, send them a message, double the guard's gate guards, triple the guards in the cell blocks! Arm them all with the best weapons we have, I don't care if we don't have enough ammo for the next week, get it done!" Winter yelled, the guard nearly shitting his pants as he took off, "And put an order in for a Paladin! Get it here as fast as possible!"

"What should we do?" Yang asked, Winter turned to face the four.

"Get some rest…it's going to be a long night." The older Schnee sister ordered. The group nodded as they turned and headed off towards their tent, Blake opened the flap for the rest of the gang. Weiss walked over and grabbed her rapier and started off for the armory, she had to make sure she was loaded. Yang walked over and fell onto her cot, breathing a sigh as she closed her eyes. Neo stared at her own cot for a few seconds, before Yang patted her cot.

Blake sighed, despite the group having reservations about it, Yang had taken to having Neo in the same bed as her. It helped her sleep and, Blake and Weiss had to face facts, Yang being tired was the worst thing that could happen in a fight. Neo climbed into the bed and curled up into Yang's chest, the small girl fitting perfectly into the brawler's arms. The cat faunas walked to her own cot and fell down on it, her eyes closing as she did.

Thoughts of everything that had happened came flooding into her mind, and, for the first time, she might actually have a chance to confront Jaune. Blake knew that he might be too far gone, killing Ruby had solidified that fact, but she had to try. Jaune was always the lovable goofball, he didn't deserve this. No one deserved to lose the people they loved, especially against a woman who manipulated the world.

 **A few hours later…**

Yang got to her feet slowly, doing her best to not disturb the sleeping Neo. She grinned at the small body, as much as she hated to admit it, the girl was cute when she slept. Maybe a bit pudgy in the stomach, but…that wasn't too bad. The brawler sighed as she got to her feet, testing her new hand as she pulled on her jacket. The weather was getting colder, knowing how bad things had been, it might start snowing soon.

As Yang turned to leave, she felt a hand clasp hers. She turned to see Neo holding her, almost desperately. Yang smiled as she slowly took that hand into hers.

"I'll be fine, don't worry." The brawler said as she pulled away, Neo stared silently after her. She cursed herself for her muteness, she wanted so desperately to tell the blonde why she couldn't stop. Yang was the only one besides him who could stop the nightmares. Yang strolled to the command building, walking into the surveillance room. Weiss, Winter, and Blake were there as well, all staring at the monitor, ready for action.

The blondes sat down in a nearby chair, yawning. In reality, she hoped that Jaune wouldn't show up. She hoped that he wouldn't confirm her fears, that he had killed Ruby. Yang held on to that little bit of hope, that maybe she would see her sister again before the next life. She started to doze off when Blake suddenly asked something.

"Winter, why does that guard keep closing his fist? He's been doing it for an hour now in the exact same pattern." The cat faunas asked, Winter looked at her…but decided to check anyway. It was a good excuse as any to make sure everything was all right.

"Guards, any signs of trouble?" Winter asked, pulling up a radio. No one answered, "Guards?"

"That's not good…" Yang whispered, Winter's eyes widened as she pressed a button on the screen.

"Guards, send a patrol to the security wing, now," Winter ordered as the screens went black, rebooting themselves. A confirmation was given as a small group of soldiers moved their way in that direction, "Don't leave this room, those are professionals. You three will just get in the way."

The trio looked visibly insulted by that, but they stopped caring as the screen rebooted and showed…the bodies of the guards strewn across the hallway. The patrol was just arriving as a man walked out of the detention room, his face was obscured. Winter's face paled at the sight, she realized that she might have just sent her own men to their deaths.

One of the soldiers walked forward, his weapon raised. He gestured to the ground, the figure stared at him for a few seconds…before raising his arm. Suddenly, as if dragged by an invisible tether, the man surged forward. His helmet and head landing in the figures grasp, the girls gasped as, in one smooth motion, the figure crushed the man's head into pulp. The other guards started firing at him, only for the figure to hold up the body as a shield.

The body absorbed the bullets, albeit turning into mush as it was pelted with lead. The bullets stopped…right before the figure threw the mushy bag at the group, the body exploding as it landed in front of them. The figure reached behind his head and drew his huge blade, the girl's eye's widened. It was Jaune, him vs four Atlas soldiers.

He surged forward, one of the men held up his gun as a feeble shield that was cut in two as Jaune slashed downward. The man's chest was opened wide as Jaune turned and slashed another man's arm clean off, the blade carrying and slashing into the guts of another, disemboweling him. The man screamed as he reached down and tried to hold in his own guts as Jaune lashed out again, slashing the last man standing's legs clean off. The teen then whirled around and slammed his sword down, cleaving the screaming man's body completely in two.

Jaune stopped to look at his bloody work, the camera was positioned in such a way that it prevented the girls from seeing his visage, right before he took off down a hallway, towards the back entrance.

"Soldiers, he's heading for the back, set up a blockade and stop him!" Winter yelled before turning go face the trio of girls, "You three, go outside and make sure he doesn't escape!"

The girls all nodded as they ran outside, Winter taking off down the hallway. She heard the screaming of her men as she got closer, as well as the…sprinklers activating? Winter doubled her pace as she kept moving, only to stop as the floor rumbled. The specialist's eyes widened as she realize that an explosion had just taken place…and that the screaming had stopped.

Outside, the girls all saw the massive fireball that came from the side of the building and took off towards it, they arrived to see a cloaked figure jumping through a hole. He landed and ripped off said cloak, which had caught on fire. He stood to his full height, the black armor completely visible. Jaune's face looked horrible, his face was covered in grim, a full on Viking beard was on his face, his eyes looked wild.

The trio stopped dead in their tracks as they saw him, his appearance a shock. Atlas soldiers started to surround him. Jaune looked around as they leveled their weapons, he snarled as he held up his left arm…and a barrel popped out. A stream of fire burped forward, the soldier shrieked in fear as Jaune whirled around, sending it out in all directions.

The soldiers all fell, some dodging the flames, others falling down as the flames burned them to death. Their screams echoing in the night, Jaune quickly took off. The girls, shaking off their shock, followed hot on his trail. Winter jumped through the hole, catching the tail end of the girls running. She growled as she followed, though…more in worry than anger.

Jaune kept running, his sword moving left and right, slashing anyone who got in his way. As he approached the guard checkpoint, all of them aimed their weapons at him. Jaune merely snarled as he reached into a pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a round ball, he pressed a button and threw it. The checkpoint exploded into a fire ball, the soldiers all falling around him and his pursuers.

He ran past the fire, taking a right into a nearby building. The girls, all except Winter, all ran in after him. The doors slamming shut as they entered, Winter slammed her fist into the door as she arrived.

"Damn it," The woman yelled before turning to some of the soldiers that had followed her, "Find me another entrance, now!"

Inside, the building was dark as pitch, the girls all circled up to keep an eye out.

"Yang…why are you touching my butt?" Blake asked suddenly, confusion in her voice.

"It's not me, it's Weiss!" Yang insisted, only for the heiress to scoff.

"I'm not touching her…it's…it's…" Weiss stuttered…only for Blake to be suddenly pulled upwards into the rafters of the building.

"Blake!" Yang yelled as Blake was brought up high, coming face to face with Jaune. The blonde stared deep into her yellow eyes, she was taken aback by that eye. It didn't fit that face, the eye of a warrior.

"Blake…surprised to see you here." Jaune said, his voice low and threatening.

"Jaune…you can stop this…you don't need to do this, come with us. I'll protect you from Yang, we can…" Blake begged, only to be cut off by Jaune.

"You'll protect me? No…no you won't, you won't protect anyone, because when it all goes to hell…you'll run. That's what you'll always do, you're nothing but a coward. Run home kitty cat, it's all you ever do." Jaune said…right before kicking her through a nearby window, she landed on her feet but the blow took a lot out of her, she could barely stand but, even with that Aura, she wouldn't have moved. Blake looked at her hands, he was right…she always ran, she always ran.

Blake punched the wall of the building, why? Why did she always run? Why couldn't she be more like Ruby, Weiss, or Yang? They never ran, they always met their problems head on. She suddenly stopped herself and grit her teeth, no…she wasn't letting this stop her…she was going to stop Jaune. She was going to save him, he didn't deserve this. She tried to take a step…only to collapse as she stepped forward.

"Hold still, I'm here." A voice sounded next to her, she slowly turned to the source.

"Sun?" Blake asked in pure confusion.

 **In the building…**

Yang was blasted through a window and into the streets, her soot covered body landing roughly in the streets. She coughed as she got to her feet.

"Damn Jaune," She said with a laugh as she looked through the windows, "When did you start taking lessons from the Yang school of kickass?"

Yang chuckled at her own joke, right before falling back down. She clutched her side in pain, Jaune had really gotten strong the past months. She laughed out loud, so…this is what happens when you pushed him too far. Pyrrha would have been proud…Pyrrha…she was the cause of all this.

"Damn it, Pyr," Yang said as she hit the ground, new tears forming, "Why did you go up there? Don't you see what you've turned him into?"

Her head rolled to the side, catching the glimpse of a set of horse hooves standing next to her. Weiss, on the other hand, was currently in the middle of a clash with Jaune. Her blades finest craftsmanship against the cold, thick steel of Jaune's, she leaned to the left, allowing the huge blade to slide off and into the ground. She growled as she stabbed forward, catching the teen in the shoulder. Her blade, however, merely bounced off his armor.

"Why Jaune? She was innocent?" Weiss yelled as she switched strategies, going for his face. Jaune merely moving his head side to side to avoid the blade, his eyes focused on her, "She had nothing to do with Pyrrha! She tried to save her!"

"And she failed," Jaune said, his voice bringing the heiress to a halt, "Just like you failed her, you both failed."

"That's…" Weiss stammered before her mouth slammed shut, he wasn't wrong, if she or Ruby had been a bit faster…they might have saved her. Weiss barely dodged the next swing as Jaune roared, the heiress moving back.

"You…you always looked at her with greed, you wanted her because she would help your own social status…you thought that she would make you look good," Jaune whispered, Weiss looked at him in shock…she knew he was right, "And all that time…she looked at me, she loved me…while I went after you. She was patient, she was kind, she didn't care about your opinion."

"What's your point?" Weiss asked, her voice quivering.

"My point? My point is that you don't understand…you don't understand what it means to care about someone, even if they love you…we're not too different you and I," Jaune said with a sick grin, "She begged for you…Ruby did, she screamed your name as I gouged out her eyes."

Weiss screamed as she surged forward, a huge mystical hand with an even bigger sword coming from behind her. Jaune merely laughed as he dodged her and slammed his sword into the mystical sword, the sword shattering as Weiss tripped on her heels. She whirled around reaching for her blade…only for a boot to slam down on her arm, Weiss looked up to Jaune's wild eyes.

"Weiss!" Winter yelled as the door was blown off its hinges, the sister running in as Jaune stabbed Weiss. Winter could see Weiss's eyes widen as the blade passed through her, sticking out her back. Jaune turned to face her, right before another explosion erupted…knocking Winter back. The older Schnee sister jumped to her feet and looked around…only to see the room completely collapsed.

She collapsed, Jaune…he had done it, he had killed Weiss, he had killed Ruby…Winter grit her teeth even harder…he was a dead man…

 **A few hours later…**

Neo pushed passed the guards into the emergency room, her breath short as she looked at Yang's broken body. The blonde smiled as the short girl walked in.

"What's cool Ice Cream?" Yang said with a chuckle as Neo approached and grabbed her in a hug, "Ouch…hey…don't squeeze too hard, doc say's I'm OK. Just a few busted ribs, nothing serious."

Neo continued to hug the blonde as two pairs of eye watched.

"She's gonna be OK?" Neptune asked as they turned away.

"Yeah, nothing serious. He didn't go all out on her." Sun answered as the pair moved throughout the camp.

"Where's Blake?" The blue haired teen asked as he looked around.

"With Emerald, trying to figure out what Jaune asked her, damn it," Sun yelled as he looked at the hole in the building, "How the hell did Jaune do this? I mean…he's a twig!"

"Doesn't seem to be like that now…that monster killed Weiss…" Neptune growled as his fist clenched.

"I know, stay cool though," Sun said as he placed a comforting hand on the blue haired teens shoulder, "We don't want to go off halfcocked, Jaune's a lot more dangerous than we thought."

"I know…but we need to…" Neptune started, right before he suddenly stopped.

"What?" The monkey faunas asked, only for Neptune to point forward. Sun followed his gaze and stopped dead in his tracks, there, in broad daylight, stood a man in a black cloak. Jaune's smirk radiated arrogance as he turned and walked away, unnoticed by anyone else. Neptune took off after him, "Neptune!"

Sun ran after him as they cut across various streets, into a sky scraper, and up a few floors. The two slowly walked onto the third story, keeping an eye out for the teen.

"So…you are here," Jaune said as the pair snapped to him, a crack of light shined through and Jaune was sitting in it. His sword point on the ground while the hilt was leaned against a pillar, "I thought I smelled cheap hair dye and shit."

Neptune didn't respond as he charged forward, his weapon shifting into its rifle for and blasting at Jaune…who merely grabbed his huge blade and blocked the shots. Sun followed up by leaping into the air and slamming his staff down, Jaune blocked that as well.

"Why, damn it?" Sun yelled as he broke off and tried to slam his staff into Jaune's side, "Why did you do it?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Jaune said with a grin as he dodged said strikes, "Weiss rejected me on prom night…I couldn't let that stand."

"You bastard!" Neptune yelled as his weapon shifted and he attempted to slam his weapon's blade into Jaune's leg, only for Jaune to block said strike, right before ducking under Sun's swing. He kicked the monkey faunas back as he turned to face Neptune again.

"What? Sad that you didn't get to stick your dick in royalty?" Jaune said, slashing at Neptune, who only barely dodged it, "Does it make you sad? Realizing that she wanted Ruby more than you?"

"Shut up!" Neptune yelled again, trying to press the offensive.

"She jumped into Ruby's arms when she saw her again, kissed her full on the mouth…" Jaune said, right before Sun jumped in and slammed his nun-chucks into Jaune's torso.

"You need to learn when to shut up!" The monkey yelled as he started firing shotgun blast into the blonde's torso, right before Neptune followed up by firing his weapon into Jaune's torso, forcing him back. Sun finished up the combo with a kick that sent Jaune flying back, the poor teen landing on his face, "I guess you're not such hot shit after all."

Both Neptune and Sun high-fived with a whoop, only to fall silent as Jaune got up. He turned around and the boy's took a step back in shock, a helmet had covered his face. It was a simple thing, just an orange visor in-between two black pieces…but the sides seemed to have a wolfish paint to them. Jaune snarled, his voice being more akin to a beast as he started forward.

Neptune fired his weapon at the fully armored teen, Jaune barely flinched as the shot hit him. His speed was unaffected as he kept moving forward, dragging his sword on the ground. Sun yelled as he charged in, slamming his weapon into the armored teen's side…only for the teen to not budge. Jaune looked over at the teen, right before he grabbed the staff, slammed Sun into the ground three times with it and threw him out a window. Jaune snapped to Neptune, who fired a few more shots at him…the monster was unaffected as he surged forward, grabbing Neptune by the throat.

Jaune roared as he slammed the teen into the ground, dragging him around as he threw him across the room. Neptune slammed into a pillar, only for Jaune to kick him through it, destroying a water pipe that was still functioning. The blue haired teen tried to get up, only for Jaune to land on his back, slamming his foot in a brutal curb stomp onto Neptune's head. He twisted his foot, right before he spied a growing pool of water.

Jaune picked up the beaten teen and threw him towards the water, Neptune stopped a few inches from the water. His eye's widened as Jaune grabbed his head.

"No…no, nonononono…" Neptune begged as Jaune, with another snarl, slammed the poor teens face into the water. Neptune's panicked motions simply made the monster growl as he let him up for oxygen…and slamming him back down, Neptune felt himself slowly slipping into darkness…right before he was let up suddenly. He turned around, his head swimming and managed to get a glimpse of Jaune's face…looking at his hands in shock.

Neptune saw the fear in his face, the regret…the last thing he thought before falling unconscious was… _there's no way that he killed Weiss or Ruby…_

 **And that's done, this is by far the largest update so far and it was quite a lot of effort. Now the plot thickens…but you'll have to wait till next time to see if Neptune is right…is he? Is Jaune really incapable of killing Ruby or Weiss? Has he fallen off the deep end and is just a brutal killing machine? Who knows? Even I don't know (OK, that's a lie.)**

 **On a different note, two announcements regarding this story, first off, I do intend to try and have this done before V4 of RWBY comes out, just a FYI deal.**

 **Second, I think I'm reaching enough people to ask this, I'm not an artist (Just look at some of my actual covers) and don't want to pay for a commission…anyone interested in doing a cover for this story? If you're interested, PM and we'll discuss details.**

 **Other than that…keep reviewing and keep following and/or favoring the story! My heart is always lifted when I see the numbers of this story!**


	6. Chapter 6

Three months…three months since Weiss stabbing, three months since Neptune's brutal beating, three months since they had last seen Jaune Arc. It had been troubling to say the least, winter was upon them, the snow hampering their progress immensely. Winter had been working night and day, trying to find Jaune…but for all her effort…she had nothing to show for it.

Neptune had made a full recovery, albeit with some psychological trauma that had to be resolved by a psycatrist. Sun and Blake had been hanging out more, though more to avoid the increasing relationship of Neo and Yang. The two had grown increasingly close the last few months, despite the unique circumstances that Neo was currently having.

A baby growing in you would do that to you, she was currently three and a half months pregnant. Yang, albeit shocked at first, took it in a stride. She had even raided a store for baby supplies…despite it only being three months. Neo had written down that it was Torchwick's, but…everyone knew that wasn't true. Torchwick had been imprisoned before the date of conception, but they also knew that Neo wouldn't hide anything without good reason.

The months had been filled with equipment transfers, the Paladin was to arrive today actually, and the servers had been redone to prevent another hack. However, the more important things to arrive was manpower, more troops, more formers students. People like teams CVFY, the rest of SSSN, hell…even team AMBR, Neon Katt, and Flynt Coal had shown up. Probably the greatest blessing/curse was the arrival of the remainder of JNPR.

Both had arrived today as well, they had been found wandering the forest, searching for a town that had been lost. Needless to say…they didn't take the news of Jaune's fall from grace well.

"That's bullshit!" Nora yelled as she grabbed Winter's collar, pulling the taller girl down to her level.

"Nora, please…language." Ren said, his face impassive as ever.

"Shut up!" Nora yelled, prompting the entire room, containing Goodwitch, Blake, Yang, SSSN, and even Ren to bristle up. Nora was never this aggressive to him, "She's standing there, telling us that Jaune has gone off the deep end, that Jaune killed Ruby and Weiss…"

"Nora, we saw what Jaune was capable of…" Blake tried to interject, only for Nora to growl at her. The faunas shut her mouth as Nora continued.

"Jaune, no matter how desperate he got, would never resort to killing his friends! He's not some berserker monster!" Nora yelled again, her voice rising, "Most off all, he would never use armor like that! No matter how desperate he got! It would be an insult to Pyrrha!"

"I see that cat's been let out of the bag," The entire room turned their heads to regard General Ironwood as he strode into the room, "Albeit with good reason."

"You!" Nora yelled as she let Winter go, only to storm up and grab Ironwood by his shirt, "You caused this! You, bringing that big ship like you were measuring dick sizes! You and Ozpin let this happen! You let Cinder and her bitches destroy everything! You let her kill all those people…you let her kill Pyrrha…"

Ironwood put a comforting hand on the now crying girls shoulder, he had dealt with enough crying friends to not be insulted by this outburst. He himself had lost friends who were more like family, the general looked up to the crowd of people.

"I understand that some of you might not be happy to see me…but I assure you, I have the world's best interest in mind. We need to stop Jaune Arc, before he does something that truly jeopardizes this fragile world." The general said coolly, allowing Nora to move over to Ren and keep crying.

"That's funny coming from you," Blake said as her eyes narrowed, "As Nora said, you're just as much to blame as Ozpin or Cinder."

"I know," Ironwood said, his hands clenching, "In my arrogance, I thought that my soldiers and robots could defend Vale. I was wrong, all those deaths are on my hands. However, right now we need to stop Cinder and her plans to destroy Vale, but first…we need to deal with Jaune Arc."

"Agreed," Goodwitch said as she looked over a map, "We haven't had any more contact with Jaune Arc in the last three months…obviously his last visit did not go over well."

"We lost 20 men," Winter said with a growl, "And my sister."

"…Yes, what we have discovered is that he's extremely adept at predicting our moves, almost as if he's got an inside source." Goodwitch said as she looked at Ironwood.

"I hear that you might have a prime suspect in custody already." Ironwood said as he looked over at Yang.

"Emerald has not had any contact with him, nor has Neapolitan, she was placed under watch as soon as she arrived." Goodwitch said, getting a slight scoff of disbelief from Yang.

"So…that means that either he's got an inside man or a way of hacking into our computers and learning of our plans." Winter said as she pointed at a black circle.

"We managed to find a signal originating from here, it was weak…but when we investigated, it turned out to be a decoy." Blake said as she leaned over the map.

"It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack," Ironwood said as he put his hand to his chin in thought, "What else do we know? I was told that we have a basic psych eval of him?"

"We, of course, have not managed to get a proper evaluation of him, but we've managed to get an idea of his motivations," Goodwitch said, "We know that he's being fueled by the death of Ms. Nikos and that he's become obsessed with avenging her death…albeit in a brutal fashion that's more animalistic."

"That's what I thought," Ironwood said as he put his hand down, "In that case…we have the perfect bait."

"What?" Blake asked, mirroring everyone's face.

"He's enraged by Pyrrha's death to the point of obsession…he probably blames me," Ironwood said, "That means that he wants me dead."

"Sir, I can't let you do this!" Winter started, only for Ironwood to hold up his hand.

"This situation is my fault…This is the start of me fixing it," Ironwood said, "We need a trap set, a ambush. Can I count on all of you?"

The crowd all nodded there agreement.

"Good, now…our goal is to capture him alive," The general said, shocking the group, "If he's found the Berserker armor, then he might have access to other Atlas weapons as well…we have to be sure."

"That's…understandable," Winter said with grit teeth, "But what if he activates his armor."

"We must do our best to prevent that, but if he activates it…" The general sighed, the group got the message.

"Sir…how would you like to proceed?" Winter asked, her voice solemn.

"If our sources are correct, and he has access to our computers, then he knows I'm here already," Ironwood said as he looked at the map of the camp, "We just need to present to him a opportunity, one that he would have to take."

"What kind of opportunity?" Ren asked in a curious voice.

"We use that 'Atlas Arrogance,' to our advantage," Ironwood said with a smile, "Lieutenant?"

"Yes sir." A woman said as she entered the tent.

"Send all the men to the factory district, we have evidence to suggest that the Black Swordsman is based there." Ironwood ordered.

"All of them?" The soldier asked.

"Yes, leave a minimum guard." Ironwood ordered, the soldier saluted and left.

"You all will stay here, alongside any other students. Jaune might be less willing to attack you and you all have proven to be quite capable at combat." Ironwood said with a calm smile.

"Absolutely not!" Goodwitch yelled as she walked towards the general, "You may have forgotten this general, but these are my students. They are under my care and…"

"We're in." All the teens present said, making Goodwitch's head snap towards them.

"Jaune's dangerous, but if there's even a chance of us making him see reason, we're willing to take the risk." Blake said as she stepped forward.

"Besides, we've got a score to settle." Sun said, cracking his knuckles.

"You know you don't have to do this." Goodwitch said, hoping some of them would take her advice.

"Actually…we do." Yang said, her eyes showing that she had no intention of backing down.

 **A few hours later…**

Ironwood looked over the city, a flask in his hand. The soldiers were still sweeping the factory district, it would take them all night. The general sighed as he looked over at the file on Jaune Arc, it was partly his fault. He had brought the technology that allowed Ozpin to make his offer and he had brought his ships, he had played right into her hands.

Ironwood took another drink, that kid didn't deserve what he got. He really didn't, hell…Ironwood knew that if he had been in Jaune's shoes, he would've done the same thing. That being said, the general had to wonder…how did Jaune get that armor? It was in Vale under Ozpins protection, but it was also behind a locked door that was nigh indestructible. It could survive a aerial bombardment and not be compromised.

That left it being opened by use of the computer…but Jaune wouldn't have access to the codes to even begin a hacking, and it would have also taken administrator access. Only his top generals, scientist, and a few trusted allies had those codes. That armor should not be on that boy, that was certain though. Ironwood heard a soft footstep behind him, he sighed once more as he turned.

"So…you want to talk?" Jaune growled as he looked at the general.

"Jaune, I know that you're out for revenge, but this isn't the way to go about it." Ironwood said calmly, this wasn't his first negotiation with an angry maniac.

"Revenge? This isn't just about revenge," Jaune said with a cackle, "It's about proving a point."

"And what point is that?" The general said, keeping his cool.

"If you need to ask that…then you're more stupid than I thought," Jaune growled as he drew his blade, "I'm done talking, you die for what you've done."

"I'm sorry about Pyrrha," Ironwood said as he reached behind himself, "But if you think I'm going to let you kill me…you're sorely mistaken."

Jaune growled as he surged forward, bringing his blade to bare. Ironwood pulled out his revolver and fired, hitting the teen in the shoulder. The bullet didn't slow the teen down as he translated his weight and swung his weapon in a horizontal fashion, which the general dodged by leaping back. Ironwood raised his fist and swung, connecting with Jaune's jaw.

The teen merely growled as he suddenly head-butted the general, disorienting him and allowing for a kick that sent the general into a desk. Jaune brought his blade up to bring it down, only for the general to throw the desk at him. The teen sliced it in half, but the general followed by leaping in and kicking the swordsman in the face.

Jaune stumbled back as Ironwood lined up another shot, this one hitting Jaune full in the chest and sending him out a window. The teen landed in a heap before he jumped to his feet, he growled as he looked around to see himself starting to be surrounded…by people he knew. Ren, Yang, Yatsuhashi, Neon, Flynt, and Coco.

"No…" Jaune growled again, looking around at their faces, "No…you shouldn't be here, you can't be here…you can't interfere with this!"

"Jaune," Ren said holding his hands up, "It's OK, we just need talk."

"No...You need to get out of my way…I don't want to hurt any of you." The knight said, his teeth gritting.

"Jaune…I know that your upset about Pyrrha, but this isn't the way to avenge her." The teen in green said, moving a bit closer.

"If it activates…I might hurt you…I don't want to hurt any of you." Jaune said, seemingly in his own world.

"Jaune…let us help you, please…we can…" Ren whispered as he put his hand on Jaune shoulder, only for the knight to snap to attention. He roared as he shoved Ren back, right before slamming his pommel into the teen's gut. Ren's eyes went wide as the air was taken from his lungs and as he was thrown away, landing on his feet before falling to his knees.

"Get him!" Coco yelled as she revved up her minigun, Yang rushed in and slammed a fist into Jaune's gut, only for him to grab said fist. He looked into her eyes…right before his left hand starting squeezing her right hand. Her nerves burned as he did, she looked down to see that her artificial hand was crumpling in on itself. She yelped as Neon suddenly skated in and kicked Jaune back, opening up an opening for Yats to get in.

The two blades clashed with a shower of sparks, Jaune not moving an inch.

"Jaune, this isn't the way," Yatsuhashi yelled, "Would Pyrrha have wanted this?"

"You don't get to say that name!" Jaune roared as he broke the clash and hit the huge teen, sending him back…only for Flynt to start playing his trumpet and blasting Jaune back. The blonde shoved his sword into the ground, only for Neon to rush in and deliver a few hits from her nun-chucks.

The blows, each crackling with electricity, stunned him long enough for Yatsuhashi to rush in and start swinging his sword. This time, however, Jaune grit his teeth and rolled out of the way, Flynt readied his trumpet for another blow.

"Shut up!" Jaune yelled, holding up his left hand, which a barrel popped out of and bullets started raining out of it. The jazz player yelped as he avoided the bullets, but that brief moment of distraction allowed Yatsuhashi to come in and slam his blade into Jaune's back, sending him into a nearby open street.

"Now!" Coco yelled as Sage ran out and raised his weapon, miniature tornados flew out and caught the knight. He was completely immobilized as the paladin came out, its weapons locking onto Jaune's form. Coco ran over as well and aimed her minigun.

"Fire!" Winter's voice rang out, the weapons all erupting in a glorious blaze of vengeance, all hitting Jaune and burying him into a nearby building. The outpouring of lead was astounding and Winter smiled as she saw the building collapsing in on itself as it kept firing.

"What are you doing?" Ironwood yelled as he came running out, the guns all stopping, "If he activates the Berserker armor, then we lose any chance of reasoning with him!"

Winter didn't have time to reply as an inhuman roar came from the rubble, all eyes turned to the now shifting debris. That's when a black form leapt from the rubble and landed on the Mech, burying it's blade into the metal. The Paladin fell to the ground, the pilot screaming as the monster stabbed again, his screams being silenced as he was impaled.

The creature snapped to Yatsuhashi, right before he roared and jumped into the air, performing a few flips, before slamming his sword down single handed. The huge teen raised his blade to block, and he did, but the force was strong enough to create a crater. The man in green eyes widened as he saw blood suddenly gush out of the armored arm, the bones cracking as the blade hit. The beast roared as it lashed out with its other hand, knocking the distracted Yatsuhashi back.

The bones ripped and teared as the hand was ripped back into place, more blood gushing as the beast whirled around and slashed the huge teen across the chest, sending him flying.

"Yats!" Coco yelled as she let loose with her minigun, only to gasp as the beast merely roared as it ran towards her, the bullets only slowing it down as it approached. The armor was doing its job as the now squashed rounds landed at his feet, the beast roared again as it grabbed the moving barrels, stopping them cold. The weapon sparked as the mechanism's tied to turn, Coco looked at the creature again.

"Shit." She muttered as the beast grabbed her by the face and slammed her into the ground, creating another crater. The beast's head snapped around as it heard a war cry, Sage rushing in to try and slash at it. He swung, only for the creature to hold up its hands and grab the blade. The sheer weight of the sword snapped one of the hands bones, but the creature merely growled as it ripped the blade out of the teen's hands and jammed its pommel into Sage's jaw.

"Let's break it down!" Neon yelled as she skated in, her speed almost dwarfing the beasts. Almost being a key word as the creature dropped Sages sword and caught her weapon, "Oh…"

The creature roared once more as it threw her directly into Flynt, sending them both into the dirt. The beast grabbed it's blade as it readied itself to finish off Sage, only for a bullet to hit its hand. The round tore through the armor, leaving a hole in it. The beast snapped towards the shooter, Ironwood and Winter poised with their weapons.

The beast hatred of Ironwood coursed through its brain as it charged, only for Winter to summon her dove attack. The creature was almost stopped by the summons, only for it to keep pushing through.

"Sir…I'd advise you to get back." Winter said with grit teeth as she readied herself to charge in.

"Noted," Ironwood said as he took aim, "I fear it's time to put him out of misery."

The general fired, hitting the beast in the chest. It roared in pain as the armor piercing rounds bit into his flesh, the general had come prepared. Winter ran in, slashing with both her weapons as the general kept firing. The beast was slowly being driven back, the bullets ripping into him as Winter's Dust enhanced slashes kept it moving slow. Winter kicked it to the ground and raised her blade to finish the job, she brought it down as hard as she could.

The creature growled as it ripped its head up, the blade catching the helmet…only for it to slide off, taking a chunk of the visor with it. Winter was taken aback by its eye, she had faced men, beast, and Grimm…but nothing had ever looked at her with such venom. That little delay was all the time it needed as the beast lashed out, going under the woman's legs. Winter tripped as it whirled around and grabbed her by the ankle, and swung her into Ironwood.

The general, taken aback by the change in tactics, was sent flying. The beast threw Winter to the ground as it charged at Ironwood, its left hand closing around his throat. The beast slammed him down into the ground, squeezing harder and harder. The general was brought up to eye level with his opponent, the snarling reaching his ears.

"Finish it then," Ironwood gargled out, "Do it..."

The creature roared as it readied itself…only for a rather sharp blade to slice the hand clean off, the creature yelped in confusion as it looked at the stump.

"Don't be so dramatic, James," Goodwitch said as she adjusted her glasses, "I think the only one who's going to die here is Jaune Arc…unless he calms…"

The woman was cut off as, dropping his sword in the process, the creature picked up the general and threw him at her. The creature roared again as a pistol shot rang out, pinging off its armored helmet. The creature snapped around to see a rather scared looking Scarlet.

"Oh…bollocks," The teen yelled as the beast charged off towards him, chasing him into a long building with cargo crates. The teen looked back, only to yelp as he ran faster, the creature on his tail, "Oh crap, crap, crap, crap!"

He dove behind a crate, the beast roaring as it tried to round the corner…only to slip on the greased floors.

"Yeah!" Sun's voice rang out, "I told you it would work."

"It just seems a little too easy for that." Blake muttered as she jumped down from the rafters, followed by both Neptune and Sun.

"What? He's down, and he's not dead! We might have a chance to…" The monkey faunas stared with a grin…only to drop said grin as the creature got up with a snarl, "Aw…come on!"

Scarlet, on the other hand, only heard the sounds of fighting before deafening silence.

"Guys? Is…is it safe?" The teen asked, slowly poking his head out from behind the crate…only for a huge to grab his face, Scarlet's muffled screams were barely heard as the beast threw him into a wall…denting it in a perfect impression. The beast started to walk out…only to stop as a figure filled the exit, Velvet stood there with a determined look on her face.

"Jaune…don't make me do this…" The girl asked, her voice soft as she tried to calm the raging beast. The armored foe only snarled again as it charged, Velvet sighed as she jumped over it. She landed as a spectral Crescent Rose appeared in her hand, the faunas fired a round, sending her flying at the beast. She wrapped the blade around the waist, swinging her around to the beast front. The weapon disappeared as a set of submachine guns appeared which erupted as she peppered the beast with bullets.

The beast roared as it lashed out with its stump, Velvet ducked under, Ember Celica replacing Ren's weapons as she punched the beast in its chest, sending it back, before creating Nora's hammer and swinging. The beast flew back as she switched it out for Coco's minigun, which she let loose, the weapon sending the unanchored beast into a building. She summoned Penny's blades as the beast climbed out of the rubble again, and sent them flying into its limbs, pinning them.

She summoned the most destructive weapon she could think of at that point, an Atlas Mech gun filled the air in front of her.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered, letting the weapon fire, a rocket careened into the beast, collapsing the building completely on it.

"Jaune…I'm so sorry." Velvet said with a sob, she had done it. She had killed, ended his reign of terror…but she had just killed Jaune, her friend, her…the rubble shifted. Her eyes snapped to as the beast as it climbed out of the rubble, Velvet gasped as she looked over him. The helmet was beaten, his lower left jaw was visible. His body was showing at various points, and it was scratched up pretty badly.

The creature snarled at her as it stepped forward, the suit drowning out the pain. Velvet fell back as the creature got closer, raising its hand to strike. Velvet summoned the first thing that came to mind as it came down, Jaune's face burning into her mind. A shield, with a symbol on it, as well as a sword. Crocea Mors. The hand hit the shield…only for the blow to barely register, the beast stared at the shield.

"No…no, she's my friend…" Jaune muttered as he grabbed his head, "I won't…I won't hurt my friend…I won't kill them…they are all I have left."

"Jaune…" Velvet said softly, only for her voice to be drowned out by a blood fueled scream.

"Jaune!" Nora yelled as she rushed in, slamming her hammer into his chest, sending him back into the building. Nora had been triggered, Jaune had hurt Ren, and Jaune was going to pay, "Why Jaune? She was out friend too!"

As she screamed, she hit Jaune with each sentence.

"She wouldn't want this! She would have wanted us to move on! And what have you done? You've killed Ruby and Weiss, you've hurt Ren! Why Jaune? Why have you turned into this monster that I have to kill?" Nora yelled as she beat on Jaune, who was now on the ground, coughing up blood as he stared at Nora's eyes. She raised her hammer and brought it down, ready to finish it. That's when a white, huge shield blocked the blow.

Nora yelped, and then again as a red blur slammed into her, sending her a few steps back.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jaune coughed out, "I told you to stay hidden!"

"As if," Weiss's voice hit Velvet and Nora like a truck, "This is what you get when you insist on being the lone hero."

"Besides, Nora would never forgive herself if she did this!" Ruby said with a grin as she grabbed the orange haired teen in a hug. Nora just stiffened up, the information not registering. Jaune got to his feet, only to be caught by Weiss when he fell.

"Velvet, where's the med tent?" Weiss asked, her voice sharp.

"It's…it's this way." The faunas answered as she started guiding the pair.

"Weiss?!" Winter yelled as she came around the bend, her eye's wide in shock.

"Look, I'll explain everything later, right now we've got to make sure this idiot doesn't die." The heiress replied as she continued on her way.

 **A few hours later…**

"Jaune Arc is recovering in the med bay," The doctor said as he entered the command center, which was currently filled with pretty much everyone who was fighting Jaune, "He's in bad shape, the armor has taken a toll on him, add on that the damage that you guys did, I'd usually recommend a large amount of bedrest."

"But?" Ironwood asked.

"It seems like Mr. Arc is more resilient that we thought, probably a combination of the Berserk Dust and his own Aura. He should be on his feet in a few hours." The doctor said with a smile.

"Did you get a look at his prosthetic? Any idea where it came from?" The general asked, looking over the medical report.

"No idea sir, it's a remarkable piece of craftsmanship," The doctor replied, "However, it does seem that it was modified from its original base, looks like it was beefed up to allow use with the armor."

"Interesting," Ironwood said as he turned to face Ruby and Weiss, "Anything you wish to add?"

"We've already told you, we're not talking until our associate arrives, they will be here any minute now." Weiss said as she crossed her arms.

"She's actually just outside the door, she just messaged me." Ruby said with a grin.

"What? You're in the middle of Atlas HQ, how did we not…" The general started before the door opened and the associate walked in.

"Salutations everyone!" Penny yelled as she entered the room.

 **So…all of you who thought that Ruby and Weiss were alive? Here you go, they are alive after all… I mean, come on guys, would Jaune really kill those two? Maybe, but that's not the case with this story! Anyway, as always, thanks for the read. Keep those reviews coming and those faves and follows clicked.**

 **However, a quick note for those of you who decide to rip on the story (for good reason or bad), I do ask of you one thing…please use proper grammar. I understand that I might be a hypocrite for asking that as my story has loads of typos (but, seriously, what FF doesn't?) but, if you're going to complain, then please do it professionally. Don't misspell cliché as clithe, as for the rest of you…keep it coming!**


	7. Chapter 7

"Salutations!" Penny yelled out.

"Dah!" Jaune yelled as he fell from his seat, landing in a pile.

"Ah, Jaune Arc, it's good to see you again," Penny said with a smile as she looked down at him, "I must have shut down by accident, sorry to scare you."

"How…what…how…" Jaune stammered before Penny cut him off.

"Mr. Arc, if you would be so kind, would you lead me to the nearest Atlas personal? I need to check in with my father." Penny asked with a smile as she attempted to walk forward, she frowned as she did not feel her leg move. The android looked down and screamed for she had no legs and her left arm was missing, she looked around in a panic.

"Penny, it's OK," Jaune said as he got to his feet, walking over to the girls torso, "You're not in danger, there was an accident. Do you remember anything?"

"I remember…oh yes, Mrs. Nikos and I were fighting in the tournament…she used her semblance on me and…oh my, where is Pyrrha? I must have startled her something fierce, please…bring her to me so I can apologize." Penny said as she calmed down, letting her logical side take over.

"Penny…Pyrrha's…Pyrrha's dead." Jaune whispered, looking down at the floor as he tried to hold back tears.

"I'm…I'm sorry, my internal hearing sensors must be damaged, and it sounded like you said that Pyrrha Nikos was dead." The android said, looking at Jaune with wide eyes.

"She's dead!" Jaune yelled, kicking his chair over, "She's dead Penny!"

"I'm…she…how?" Penny asked in a panicked voice.

"Do you remember Cinder?" The knight asked, his voice low.

"Cinder Fall? Yes, she and Ruby's friend Emerald were team members, correct?" The android replied, Jaune's head snapped up.

"Yes…her…that…bitch killed Pyrrha, she killed Pyrrha and then she raised a Grimm dragon and…and…" Jaune stammered our, tears falling down his face as he fell to his knees, "Beacon has fallen, everyone…everyone is gone. I can't find any of them."

"What about team RWBY?" Penny asked, concerned about her friends.

"They…they're gone, or might as well be," Jaune said with a laugh, "Weiss went back to Atlas, Blake's running around playing vigilante, Ruby and Yang are at their home in patch and…oh Dust…Yang."

"What happened to her?" The orange haired girl asked, her voice getting more concerned.

"A man named Adam Taurus…cut off her arm," Jaune said with venom, "He cut it off, and now he's running around like this cities his own fucking playground."

"Jaune…why did you bring me here?" Penny asked, trying to change the subject, "And, where is here?"

"This is an old Atlas bunker," Jaune said with a growl at the name, "They hid some technology here, I'm trying to open it. I'm trying to find something to help me fight back against Cinder and her master."

"Master?" Penny asked in a confused voice.

"Trust me…you don't want to know." Jaune said, hugging himself with his right arm and shuddering suddenly.

"OK," The android replied, noticing the spike in Jaune's vitals, "Then why am I here?"

"I thought…maybe if I looked inside your databanks, then I might be able to get access to this base's computer system." Jaune said as he looked at a nearby computer.

"Well…you ran power to me, causing me to reactivate…please…don't shut me down." Penny whispered suddenly, begging.

"What? Why would I do that?" Jaune asked back, more confused than earlier.

"You…you didn't need to reactivate me, what's to stop you from unplugging my power source?" Penny asked, her eye's wide.

"Penny," The knight whispered as he got up and put a hand on her head, "I wouldn't dream of it, if I had known that this would have brought you back…I would have done it."

"Thank you," Penny whispered, her voice quaking, "What do you intend to do now?"

"Penny…can you access Atlas databanks?" Jaune asked, his voice low.

"Yes, I can access any Atlas system, why?" The android asked, her brown raised in question.

"I'm going to offer you a deal, if I rebuild you…will you open this bunker's armory?" The knight asked, his voice still low.

"Yes, yes I will," Penny said with a grin before noticing something about Jaune, his left sleeve was pinned to his shirt, "Jaune…what happened to your arm?"

Jaune looked down at it as well before looking up with rage fueled eyes.

"Something I'd rather not talk about," The knight growled as a door opened behind him, he turned to the person entering, "Hey Neo."

"Who is that?" Penny asked as she looked over Jaune's shoulder.

"This is Neo, she's a friend, helped me out of a bad spot and we've been hanging out ever since," Jaune said as he looked at Neo, "Neo…we are going to repair Penny, I'm going to need your help with this, OK?"

The girl nodded as she walked over to a toolbox.

"Jaune?" Penny asked suddenly, making the knight turn.

"Yeah?" Jaune replied back, his voice curious.

"I'm sorry about Pyrrha…I wish I could have helped her." The android whispered back, her voice low.

"Yeah…I wish I could have helped too." Jaune answered back as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

 **Present day…**

"So he just…repaired you?" Ironwood asked, looking over the girl.

"Well…he mainly brought me parts and I repaired myself, it wasn't hard. I have detailed schematics of myself stored away." Penny said with a grin to the entire room.

"Then where is your left arm?" Blake asked, gesturing to the still empty socket.

"Well…it happened a few days after my legs were fully functioning…" Penny began.

 **Flashback…**

"Jaune…why don't you have a prosthetic?" Penny said as she looked at Jaune's stump, his lower arm completely missing.

"Didn't have access to one and I don't have the money," Jaune replied back as he looked over Penny's arm as well, lifting it up and down, making sure it didn't need oil, "This should be easy to repair, nothing's too broken."

"Jaune…would you like my arm?" Penny asked suddenly, making Jaune drop the arm in surprise.

"What? Why?" The knight stammered back, his voice raised in confusion.

"Well…it's an arm, I've seen your new sword," Penny answered, pointing at the huge blade across the room, "You need two hands to wield it."

"But…why yours? Why would you offer this?" Jaune asked as he looked at the arm again.

"Well…it's the least I could do for you after you spent so much time rebuilding me, I can rebuild you a little bit." Penny replied, Jaune looked at her in shock.

"But…don't you need it?" Jaune asked, keeping his voice down.

"I can get Atlas to make me a new one when I go back," The android said with a smile, "Besides…this arm is already Aura ready and, since I have the schematics, I can modify it for you."

"Well…OK, if you wish, I'll accept." Jaune said with a grin.

"OK, but before I get started on that, allow me to open that door for you." Penny said as she turned around and walked over to a terminal near the door, she typed in a code using one hand and the door opened in a few seconds.

"Wow…that was quick," Jaune said as he looked inside, the harsh white lights turning on, "Hey Neo, let's check this out."

The silent girl quickly ran in, followed by the knight.

"I'm pulling up the logs," Penny said, as the data came across the screen faster than a human could perceive it, "This was apparently an armory that only a few select people knew about, including Ozpin and Ironwood."

"Of course Ozpin knew about it," Jaune said as he spit on the ground, "What else can you tell me about this place?"

"Apparently, this is where they stored some of the weapons they deemed too dangerous for use." Penny replied as Jaune walked up to a crate, which he pried open. He reached in and pulled out a silver suitcase, opening it to reveal vials of black Dust.

"Beast Dust, any idea what that is?" Jaune yelled out.

"Beast Dust, also known as Berserk Dust, is a rare form of refining Dust that shuts off the nervous system, increases strength, and increases Aura levels with the cost of going into a feral state." The android replied back.

"Odd…wonder why this is here. Shouldn't this stuff be, I don't know, destroyed?" Jaune yelled back as he walked over to a clear tube with black armor in it, "What's this?"

"That is something called the Berserker armor, the Beast Dust goes with it…" Penny replied back.

 **Present Day…**

"So that's how he got it," Goodwitch said as she looked at Ironwood, "What else did he take?"

"A flame thrower, but that's the only other thing," Penny said as she looked around, "Everything else, we took from other Hunter stores."

"So…this arm was once yours?" The doctor said as he held it up.

"Yes, albeit with a substantial upgrade to the armor," Penny said with a prideful grin, "It's powerful enough to withstand plasma rounds!"

"OK, as scary as that is," Yang said before turning to Ruby and Weiss, "Would you care to explain…WHERE THE HELL YOU TWO HAVE BEEN?"

"Yang…it's a bit complicated." Ruby said as she rubbed the back of her head.

 **Flashback…**

Ruby awoke with a groan before her head snapped around, taking in her surroundings. She was in a dark room on a cot, the girl jumped to her feet as the door opened. A girl with pink and brown hair walked in with a tray, Ruby instantly remembered her from the train…this was the girl who beat Yang…the one who was with Torchwick when he tried to kill her on the airship. The girl looked shocked as Ruby suddenly raced past her, Ruby wasn't waiting to find out if the girl wanted revenge.

"Salutations Ruby!" Penny yelled, causing Ruby to trip and fall down.

"Penny!?" The reaper yelped as she landed, grabbing her head as she looked up, "You…how…what?"

"Jaune did it! He found and rebuilt me!" The android yelled as she picked the young girl off the ground.

"Jaune…Jaune!" Ruby yelled out as she remembered what happened a few days ago, "Where is he?"

"He's in there," Penny said as she pointed at a nearby door, "He's sharpening his sword and letting his body recover."

"Recover from what?" Ruby asked, a slight amount of concern coming into her voice.

"He'll have to explain it to you…it's complicated." The android said as she rubbed the back of her head. Ruby looked at the android, but, seeing that she wasn't going to get any answers, opened the door. The sound of a grind stone filled the air as she entered, heat blasting her face as well. Ruby could see a dark figure, his siluette illuminated by a fire, sparks flew off his blade.

"Jaune?" Ruby whispered as she neared him, the figures head snapped up as he whirled around. Jaune relaxed as he realized who it was who spoke, he gestured for her to come closer.

"Hey Ruby," Jaune said, his voice hoarse as the teen neared, "How's the head?"

"Better…Jaune…what's going on?" Ruby asked as she neared him, she got close enough to see his face, one that once was full and innocent, now dark and greasy, "What happened to your eye?"

"A gift from Mercury," Jaune growled as he grabbed a seat and pulled it up for Ruby, "One I intend to pay him back for, as for what's going on, I knocked you out and brought you here. Seems simple enough."

"Why did you kill Adam? Why did you bring me here?" Ruby fired off, clearly upset.

"Why? Adam needed to die," Jaune said, "The White Fang are in disarray, they're confused, they won't be a threat for a while, as for why I brought you here? That answer is simple…your eyes."

"What?" Ruby asked, confusion evident on her face.

"Your eyes…you stopped the dragon, you put a wrench in Cinder's plans…that makes you a target," Jaune said as he looked around the room with his one eye, "Everyone thinks you're dead, that includes Cinder. For now, you're safe."

"Everyone?" Ruby asked, her voice cracking.

"Well…in time they will, they need too," The blonde said as he rubbed his shoulder, "Ruby…I'm sorry about kidnapping you, but it's the only way to keep you safe."

"Jaune, that's…that's insane," The reaper replied, still in shock at what was happening, "We need to get out there, we need to find Goodwitch, she'll…"

"Did you not hear what I said?!" Jaune yelled, cutting her off, "As soon as you step outside, Cinder will know you're alive! Do you know what she'll do?!"

"I…" Ruby started before being cut off.

"She'll track down Yang, your father…Weiss, she'll drag them back here to lure you out! She'll torture them and kill them!" Jaune yelled as his eye widened with rage, "And you'll fall for it! Because that's what she does!"

Ruby visibly shrank at the harshness in his voice as he yelled, the knight, after panting heavily, looked at the reaper before taking a deep breath.

"Sorry," Jaune said as he walked to a chair, "The Dust is working its way out of my system, it does a number on me."

"What Dust?" Ruby asked, this time out of concern.

"Let me tell you about it…" Jaune answered, his voice dropping.

 **Present…**

"That's when he told me about the armor," Ruby said as she looked over the crowd, "He also explained to me his plan, how he intended to bring team RWBY back together."

"He did succeed in that regard," Blake muttered before she turned to Weiss, "And what's your story?"

"Well…it's a bit awkward to talk about…" Weiss said as she looked at Yang.

 **Flashback…**

Weiss awoke to a burning pain in her shoulder, the heiress looked over at said shoulder. It was wrapped in bandages and slathered with green gel, Aura booster, she believed it was called. She groaned as she turned her head to face the other way, coming face to face with a face she thought long dead. Ruby Rose was inches away from her, Weiss laughed as she drank in the image.

Yep…she was dead, she knew it. Weiss Schnee, the heiress to the Schnee Dynasty, had been killed by that idiot Jaune Arc. Well…if she was dead, she wasn't going to hold back. The Heiress reached out and grabbed the red head, who, squeaking in surprise, didn't offer any resistance as Weiss pulled her in for a kiss.

Weiss felt Ruby's hand go around her hair, pulling her closer, deepening the kiss. Weiss just held it there, finally tasting Ruby's sweet lips, when a knock on the door was heard. The heiress broke away from the kiss to see Jaune Arc standing there, looking haggard.

"If you're done," The knight said, "We've got something to discuss."

Weiss's eyes opened wide as she took in his form…yep, he looked exactly like he did when he stabbed her, but if he was here, did that mean he was dead as well? The pain in her shoulder resounded again, wait…if she was dead…why did her shoulder hurt? The reality hit her like a ton of bricks…she was alive, and she had just made out with Ruby…

"Ruby…I…" Weiss started before Ruby giggled as she hugged the heiress.

"I'm so happy you're here!" Ruby yelled as she squeezed the heiress tight.

"You…you…you're alive!" Weiss yelled in pure shock.

"Of course she is, did you really think I would kill Ruby? She's like one of my sisters." Jaune finished as he got up, gesturing for the Heiress to follow. She got up and followed up him, with Ruby following as well. He led them throughout the base, stopping at what appeared to be a kitchen. Food had been set out, Jaune gestured to Weiss to eat, which she greedily did.

"You eat and get your strength back, we'll talk later, I know you have questions," The blonde said as he walked out, "and I assume you might want to talk to Ruby alone."

The door closed behind Jaune, leaving Weiss to look over at Ruby awkwardly.

"Sorry." Weiss said abruptly, making Ruby jump.

"For what?" The reaper asked as she inched closer.

"For kissing you, it was unprofessional and uncouth, I'm sorry." Weiss answered, looking down.

"Weiss…" Ruby said as she moved in closer, "You know…after Beacon…do you want to know the thing that I missed the most?"

"The cookies?" Weiss answered, trying to ignore the heat rising to her cheeks as Ruby moved closer.

"Well…those and something else," Ruby said as she got inches away from Weiss, "I missed a certain someone, someone who called me a dolt but looked past that, someone who wore white, someone who always wanted her 'beauty sleep,' someone who tried to date a blue haired guy and made me jealous."

"Ruby, I think that you should…" Weiss stammered, only for Ruby grab the Heiress's hand and hold it tight.

"Weiss…I love you," Ruby whispered as she pulled the heiress close, "I don't ever want to see you leave again."

"Ruby…shut up and kiss me you dolt." Weiss replied back, allowing the reaper to kiss her once again.

 **Present…**

"And that's how we got here," Weiss said, "He knew that Ironwood would set himself as bait and that the only way to keep up the ruse of him being unhinged was to fall for the trap, we just thought he could handle it. We didn't know that Nora or Ren were here."

"So, Jaune's been keeping an image of insanity as a ploy?" Ren asked, surprised at his leaders resourcefulness.

"Well…yes and no," Penny jumped in, "The armor does have a dramatic effect on his psyche when he is using it, especially after the Berserk Dust is used. It does increase his aggression levels as well as his depression, usually to extremes."

"Depression?" Blake chimed in, concern in her voice.

"Well…yes, surely you must have noticed that Jaune Arc is depressed about the death of Pyrrha," Penny said as she turned to face the cat faunas, "Usually the death of a loved one does that to someone."

"I mean, it makes sense," Yang said as she turned to face Blake, "I mean…I lost an arm, he lost Pyrrha."

"But his mood was greatly improved when Ruby, and later Weiss, joined him," The android chimed in again, "It seems being with his friends helped him."

"I only wish we could have been here sooner," Ren said with a sigh, "We didn't realize that Jaune would go so far."

"Yes, but seeing Ruby and Weiss demonstrate their affection for each other, it drastically affected his mood," Penny said with a grin, "Although…he didn't seem comfterble when they participated in coatis."

"What?!" Yang yelled as her eyes snapped towards the heiress.

"Penny…now is not the time for this…" Ruby tried to whisper to no avail.

"Ruby Weiss participated in sexual congress multiple times before our journey here," Penny said with a grin, "Jaune's biochemistry levels rose into a state of extreme anxiety…"

"You had sex with my sister?!" Yang and Winter screamed, both Weiss and Ruby backing away slowly.

"Yang, it was a mutual thing…" Ruby said as she stepped in front of Weiss, Yang's eyes turned red as she growled.

"You've got three minutes till I kick both of your asses." Yang growled, both Ruby and Weiss looked at each other, nodded…and took off as fast as they could. Yang and Winter walked out slowly, getting ready to pursue.

"Anxiety you say?" The doctor asked, his voice low and concerned.

"Yes, though he refused to acknowledge it, why?" Penny asked, her voice showing that she didn't realize had just happened with Ruby and Yang.

"Interesting," The doctor said as he turned to the general, "When I was examining Mr. Arc, I noticed some strange scarring on his thighs, posterior region, and groin."

"Are you saying that…" Sun started before the doctor raised his shoulders.

"I'm not suggesting anything, but we'll need to get a full psychological evaluation of Mr. Arc before we continue on." The doctor said as he took his leave.

"That can wait," Blake said as she started out the tent, "We've got to make sure Winter and Yang don't kill Ruby and Weiss."

 **A few hours later…**

Yang stormed into the medical building, she had just gotten out of a lecture from Goodwitch about setting fire to personal property and she was kind of pissed. She needed to talk to Neo about everything, the quiet girl was really good at listening, but she was told that she had headed to the medical facility for Dust knows why.

"I'm looking for a girl, short, brown and pink hair, same color eyes, have you seen her?" The blonde asked the receptionist.

"Uh…yes, she just passed through, she is visiting room 3C. A patient by the name of…Jaune Arc, I believe." The woman answered before she turned to help another person. Yang looked at the woman with a slight amount of shock, sure, she remembered that Ruby had mentioned that Neo was with Jaune, but she had forgotten it in her rage about…things she'd rather not think about.

Why was Neo visiting Jaune right now? Yang quickly shook her head as she started down the hallway, she had some questions she needed to ask Jaune as well. The blonde moved her way past doctors and orderlies until she reached the door, the two guards outside stopped her before she could enter.

"Authorized personal only." One of the guards said gruffly.

"Did you let a girl in with brown hair and pink hair, same colored eyes, probably holding an umbrella?" The brawler asked.

"No, the only person who has entered is a nurse, she's been in there checking his vitals." The other guard replied, Yang groaned as she grabbed her head. Of course, Neo could create very effective illusions.

"Look, I've been authorized to enter, I'm his…psychological evaluator." Yang said, hoping the soldiers didn't know who she was.

"Yeah, and I'm a Grimm." One of the guards said with a laugh.

"She actually is," A voice rang out from behind her, the three all turned to face the doctor who was in the tent earlier, "She's just arrived a bit ahead of schedule, she's also dressed in a way to make the patient more comfterble."

"Sorry sir," The guard who spoke earlier said as he turned and opened the door, "Ma'me, sorry for the delay."

Yang nodded as she entered, a sheet had been set up so that no one could see Jaune, and they weren't risking Jaune seeing what they were going to inject him with. Yang slowly approached the sheet, hearing whispers as he got closer.

"…Neo, I'm sorry, but I can't stop. You know that." Jaune whispered, Yang slowly approached, peeking her head through. She saw Jaune with his hands on Neo's stomach, the girl making motions with her hand.

"You figured as much?" Jaune said with a slight amount of surprise, "Then why are you here?"

Neo made some more motions with her hands.

"Yeah…I guess that's fair," Jaune said with a laugh, "But…do you think you'll be safe? You and the baby?"

Neo laughed as she did a few more hand motions, followed by punching.

"Wait…you and Yang?" Jaune laughed as Neo nodded, "Hah! I told you that you would find someone else."

Yang saw Neo's shoulders move as she giggled, the brawler took a step back, knocking down a chair by accident. Both of the two snapped towards the sheet, Neo jumping through with a scalpel in hand. Her eyes widened as she saw the spy, the mute took a few steps back, allowing Yang to enter.

"So…you and her…" The brawler began but didn't finish.

"Yes…we did." Jaune said, lowering his head in shame.

"Well…was it before or after you met me?" Yang said, her voice cracking as she turned to face Neo.

"Before…" Jaune answered, his gaze lowering even more.

"Well…that clears things up a bit," Yang said as she approached the small girl, who looked down at the ground in shame. This was it, she had lost it. Neo was losing the woman she loved, "Neo…"

Neo didn't look up, until a gentle hand lifted her chin up. Neo looked deep into those purple eyes, only to be brought closer to them. Jaune groaned again as the two started making out.

"If you're gonna fuck each other, please leave the room," Jaune groaned out, "I feel like the general is going to ride my ass tomorrow to get answers."

"Sorry," Yang said with a laugh, "Hey…I need to ask you something, where did you get the sword?"

"It's not as grand as you think, it's a trophy from my great-grandfather's time in the war, took it off a opponent." Jaune answered, Yang nodded as she grabbed Neo and dragged her out. The knight looked over at the open window and sighed…

 **Flashback…**

Jaune stared at the picture in his hands, of him and Pyrrha on the docks. It had just been a normal shopping trip but…Pyrrha had insisted they get a photo. The knight's eyes filled with tears as he continued to look at it, the memories of the past, the thoughts of what could have been filling his mind. He was too weak, he had always been too weak, the only one who had ever believe in him, the only one who had ever thought he could to it. Pyrrha's picture blurred as his tears fell on it, the glass protecting it from the water.

What should he do? What could he do? She was gone…and she wasn't coming back and yet Jaune felt something…something boiling underneath his skin. He figured it out a while back, it was rage. Rage that someone had done this, had let this happen, had told her that she was the only hope, had told her about the Maidens, had let loose an arrow through her heart.

All of them…they had doomed her, doomed Pyrrha to die. How stupid was he? He had ignored her attempts at infection, and what happened? Those bastards killed her before she actually realized that she needed to go all in, all of them…they needed to pay. Jaune looked at the picture…before punching it, shattering the glass, ignoring the glass tearing at his skin, he pulled out the photo.

He got to his feet, walking over and ripping open the door to his room. He stormed through the house, opening the basement door, walked up to a chest, and ripped it open. It was a big chest, one designed to hold a great treasure. Jaune grabbed the blade and, with a groan of effort, pulled it out. The knight grinned as he looked across its huge blade, yeah…this would too nicely.

Crocea Mors didn't fit for his task…this blade would do, this blade had killed men and Grimm, good and evil, this blade…Grimm-Slayer. Jaune got to his feet as he walked out of the basement, stopping at a door near him. He opened it to reveal a small girl, half his age. Her blonde hair shined in the pale moonlight, she woke to his entering.

"Brother…what time is it?" She asked as he approached.

"It's late, I just needed to tell you something," Jaune said as he patted her head, "Brothers going to be leaving soon…and I'm not coming back."

"What?" The girl asked, her eye widening as she suddenly grabbed Jaune's waist, "Don't go brother, please!"

"Shh," Jaune whispered as he pried her off of him, "It's OK, I needed to tell you something, remember Crocea Mors?"

"Yeah…" The girl asked as she wiped away tears.

"I need you to promise me something, when the time comes…do with it what you think is right." Jaune whispered.

"Brother…are you going to be a hero?" The girl asked, her eyes still full of tear.

"Yes, that's why I've got to go." The knight said as he kissed her head.

"I love you…" the girl said as Jaune turned around, the knight turned with a smile as well.

"I love you too." Jaune said as he set out, he would have his vengeance, even if it killed him.


	8. Chapter 8

The general stared at the blonde teen in front of him, the single eye looking at him with the same amount of intensity. Ironwood allowed his eyes to drop to the stump of Jaune's right arm, the disc that attached the cybernetic arm in clear sight. It seemed that Goodwitch got lucky when she managed to cut it off, anywhere else it might have been a different story.

"Mr. Arc," The general said as he cleared his throat, "I believe you requested to see me."

"That I did general," Jaune answered back, his voice low, "Though…I didn't expect to have company."

"A security measure, we both know that it's required given your track record." Ironwood said, glancing over at their audience. Winter was there, as was team RWBY, Nora, and Ren, the general didn't approve of the younger folk watching, but the doctor insisted that it would ensure Jaune's cooperation.

"I understand that," The teen said with a growl, "But that's besides the point, I needed to talk to you about the next course of action that we need to take."

"We?" Ironwood said as his brow's raised, a interest coming into his eyes.

"Yes, we, did you think I did all of this because I was a lunatic? No…I needed everyone back in town for this," Jaune said as he looked around, "I have a plan to draw Cinder out of hiding and to kill the dragon."

"What makes you think you're in any position to tell us what to do?!" Winter yelled as she slammed her fist into the table, "You've killed my men, Atlas personal, you're lucky we're not dragging you back to face charges and…"

"That's enough Winter," Ironwood snapped as he cut off the older Schnee sister, "As much as it pains me to admit, Jaune has managed to eliminate the White Fang, capture and safeguard two valuable assets, bring two others into our protection, assist in the capture of one of Cinder's most trusted associates. What ever he has to say to us, whatever he's planning, I say we should hear him out."

"There's a good man." Jaune said with a wolfish grin, before the general turned to him.

"However, I do intend to bring you to Atlas after this is over young man, you will face trial for what you've done." The general said with certainty.

"I will gladly face a court when this is over," The knight said, "But first, we need to deal with Cinder and that dragon."

"Yes, you've done your part in eliminating her associates, though Mercury's body is still unrecovered…" The general said before Jaune cut him off.

"Don't worry about him, he's dead, I tracked him down after he sabatoged his transport. Didn't put much of a fight after I ripped off his other leg." Jaune said as he looked at the map.

"He sabotaged the ship? You didn't bring it down?" Winter asked, her eyes narrowing.

"No…I didn't, Mercury was a clever bastard, but he didn't count on me tracking him." The man in black said.

"We're getting off track, what is your plan?" Ironwood said as he moved a map in front of Jaune.

"Simple, we attack," Jaune said as he pointed at said map, "You and your troops will draw off the Grimm, me and a small team will enter and draw Cinder out, then? I deal with her."

"And what makes you think she'll come for you?" Winter asked as she sat down, staring at the teen intently.

"I've insulted her, I've undone everything she planned," The teen said as he smiled a feral grin, "She'll want me dead."

"What of the dragon? Even if you kill Cinder, that beast will keep drawing the Grimm to it." The general asked, his eyes trained on the map.

"After Cinder is dealt with, I'll leave the dragon up to whoever has the biggest bomb," Jaune said as he leaned back, "Blow it right to hell, fire should destroy any remains."

"A sound plan," Ironwood said as he mulled it over, "But what makes you think you can even defeat Cinder?"

"The power of the Maiden won't help her from my wrath," Jaune snarled, startiling the general, "Yeah, I know about it, the records in the bunker revealed much to me. The armor will allow me to get past her defenses, and it's durable enough to hold off her attacks."

"And what, pray tell, would make us even consider giving you the armor in the first place?" The older Schnee sister asked, her lips curling into a similar snarl.

"That's enough," The general ordered as he turned to face Jaune, "The armor is being repaired by Penny, when you're fully recovered, we'll be ready to begin this operation."

"Good, then I'll take my leave." The teen said as he got up and walked out of the tent, Winter looked at the general in shock.

"Why would you give him back the armor? We both know he'll take it and run after he's done with it, he'll probably go after you!" The older Schnee sister yelled, only for the general to hold up his hand.

"When the doctors where working on Mr. Arc, I had them implant a tracker into his system. After the battle is over, we'll find him and arrest him. He'll be brought to Atlas to face charges," Ironwood said as he got up, "Albeit with leeway for his actions here."

"Leeway? He killed Atlas troops!" Winter yelled, her anger rising.

"Yes, but he's also the reason why we have gotten this far in the first place, without him, we'd be tracking Cinder in Mistral right now." The general answered, Winter looked down at the map in defeat, she knew he was right. Jaune Arc was the only reason why this war might be closing in on it's final moments…

 **A few days later…**

"You know, I said a small force." Jaune muttered as he boarded a ship, followed by team RWBY, SSSN, Ren, Nora, and Penny.

"Aw, you know you'd miss us," Nora said as she grabbed Jaune and pulled him into a hug, the Viking appeared to have forgotten all about Jaune's attempt to kill Ren a few days ago, "Besides, now we get to kill Grimm together!"

"Nora, let him go," Ren ordered, the orange haired girl frowned as she did, "Jaune, we all volunteered for this, you need help and with Atlas handling the bulk of the Grimm, you need us."

"Alright," Jaune groaned as he sat down, his armor shifting as he did, "So…you guys ready?"

"You bet," Yang said as she punched her fist together, "I'm ready to pay that bitch back for everything she's done."

"Although I wouldn't use such colorful language, I agree with Yang." Blake replied as she put her hand on the brawlers shoulder.

"I know I am!" Nora yelled with a certain amount of gusto, "It'll be just like old times! Just…like…"

"Nora," Ren said comfortingly, putting his hand on her shoulder, "We're both in, Pyrrha was our teammate and friend. We want to avenge her."

"Good," Jaune said as he got up and walked to the loading door, turning his head back to the people on the ship, "I'm sorry for what I put you through, I really am…but I'm afraid that it doesn't end till this is all over. I'm going to deal with Cinder, you keep the Grimm off my back."

"Wait, we're not fighting Cinder?" Weiss asked as she stood up.

"No…she has abilities that are far above your own, Pyrrha couldn't beat her and she was the best of us," The black knight growled, "This armor is the only thing that will allow me to fight back."

"Are you sure you don't want some backup?" Ruby asked, her voice low and dark.

"No…trust me, it's better on the ground." Jaune answered as the doors opened onto the dock of Beacon, two other ships landed beside them as well to keep the landing zone secured as the team moved in to deal with Cinder. The knight drew his huge blade as he walked into the cool night air, the moon shining in the sky. The group could see the Grimm off in the distance running towards them, Jaune snarled as he charged, swinging his sword and slicing two Ursa in half with a single swing.

The teams looked at each other, nodded, and charged, followed by team CFVY as they exited their ship. The Second Battle of Beacon had begun, Jaune roared as he charged towards the tower where the dragon lay motionless, followed by team RWBY. The group slashed, punched, and stabbed past any Grimm, stopping at the tower.

"She's here," Jaune growled as he looked up, the rest of the team following suit, sure enough, they could make out the faint glow of Cinder's clothes, "Hold the line, I'm going to finish this, here and now."

"Jaune…you don't have to do this alone." Ruby said, grabbing him by the arm.

"No…I do," The knight said as he pulled away, walking into the tower before stopping and turning to the girl, "Hey, before I go, I need to give you something."

Ruby's brow raised as Jaune reached into his pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a worn out journal.

"Once this is over, read it, trust me…it'll be enlightening for all of you." The knight said as he walked up to the elevator shaft, he jumped onto the cable and started his way up. It was time to deal with this, it was time to see her final resting place, it was time…to see the love of his life's ashes. The team all turned to face the approaching Grimm, their weapons cocking.

"Ruby…I just want to say this one last time before we start," Weiss whispered, "I love you."

"Weiss…I love you too." The red head answered back, before screaming as she charged off. The rest of the team following, this was the day they were waiting for.

The door above across from Cinder opened with a screech as the knight pulled himself through, the teen cracking his neck as he drew his blade.

"Cinder…" Jaune snarled as he stared at her, the woman smiled as she looked over him, his scarred visage, his wild eyes, his bared teeth. Yes, he did indeed look like what she imagined this thorn in her side to look like.

"Jaune Arc," The woman said as she started walking, "I knew you'd show up, I've been waiting for a long time for this."

"So have I…" Jaune said as he walked, keeping her in front of him.

"Indeed you have, impressive, considering that you've never had a day of training before Beacon," Cinder said, her eyes never leaving Jaune's, "I assume that you must have had some great secret to join Beacon, some great family name, or maybe Ozpin wanted another pawn in his game."

"Funny, I could say the same thing about you and your associates," Jaune growled, "Manipulating people who love you, that's sick."

"If you're referring to Emerald, then you needn't bother," The woman replied as well, "I'll deal with her when I see her, she deserves an award for being so sweet."

"Maybe," Jaune snarled, "But before that…you and me, we have something to discuss."

"Like what?" Cinder replied back, her hands twitching.

"Like how you're going to beg when I'm done…" Jaune snarled as he charged, his rage fueled chop narrowly missing the elusive woman. Cinder laughed as she summoned her arrows up and fired some, only for the teen to duck under them and swing at her again. The women leaped over the blade, turning around and slamming her fire infused fist into Jaune, sending him forward. The teen snarled as he slammed his blade into the ground, preventing him from falling off the side.

He looked up to see Cinder careening towards him, the Maiden powers shooting her like a rocket. Jaune roared as he brought up his blade, the woman shifted and leapt off of it, landing on her feet. The knight got up, cracking his neck as he did. Cinder had to admit, she was impressed, he had done well and he hadn't even used the armor's full potential yet. The woman smiled as she summoned her bow again, firing an arrow. Jaune rolled out of the way, raising his sword as he readied to strike back.

He raised his face to see Cinder in it, slamming her foot into his jaw, sending him careening towards the edge again. Jaune leapt to his feet, his face snapping up to her in rage. He had not come this far to fall off a simple edge of a building, he was here to end this part of his life.

 **At the Beacon Grounds…**

Ruby yelled as she sliced off a Beowulf's arm, sending it to the ground and allowing Weiss to finish it off. The pair had become separated from the main group and where making their way back to the tower, needless to say, much easier said than done. Weiss summoned a spectral hand to swipe away some more Grimm, Ruby following through to keep the Grimm off of them.

The red head slashed another one in half, only for a yelp to make her snap back. She turned to see that Weiss had just been knocked back by Beringel, it's ape like fist knocking her into a wall.

"No!" Ruby yelled as she saw a Boarbatusk ready itself for a charge, she jumped into to try and slash at it…only for the tusk to miss her weapon and slam itself into her chest. The reaper was knocked back into Weiss, who shook her head as the stars vanished.

"Ruby!" The Heiress yelled as she saw the limp body at her feet, she ran over to look over the girl. Ruby's Aura had taken most of the blow, but she was still injured. Weiss looked up to see the Grimm approaching, she wouldn't be able to get Ruby out of here.

"Weiss," Ruby said weakly, lifting her hand up to caress the heiress's cheek, "Go…get out of here."

"No you dolt," Weiss whispered as she grabbed the younger girls hand, "I'm not leaving you here."

"Weiss, you won't be able to leave here with me, save yourself." The reaper whispered, bringing Weiss to her level.

"No…I can't, I've lost too much already, I've lost Pyrrha already, I'm not losing you again," Weiss whispered as she broke away from the embrace, grabbing her weapon off the ground, "I can't lost you again."

The ape like Grimm roared and beat it's chest as it charged, Weiss braced herself for the impact…only for it to never come. The heiress looked up to see…a spear through it's chest, the creature looked down in surprise as it faded away. Weiss looked at her savior, only to take a step back. It was a being wearing a skull mask, wearing a suit of what appeared to be bone. It drew a sword and slashed away at the surrounding Grimm, creating a brief respite.

The being looked at the pair, before gesturing with it's sword for them to follow. Weiss, after looking at Ruby, nodded and picked up the reaper carrying her as she followed the being. A few Grimm attacked them, but the being was more than a match for anything that came at it. That's when a screech filled the air, Weiss turned around to see a Nevermore swooping in for the kill.

She gasped as she looked at girl in her arms, she would never be able to make cover before the creature got to them. That's when the being stepped forward, it looked at Weiss, pointed in a direction, before drawing it's spear again. Weiss, understanding, took off running, the creature looked at the being as it came in, expecting easy pickings. Weiss looked back to see the creature raise it's spear…before throwing it, she watched as the blade rocketed through the air…before slamming into the Nevermore.

The Heiress kept running as she heard the creature fall, it's dying screech reaching her ears. She rounded a corner…and ran into Yang and Blake.

"Where have you two been? We've been looking for you!" Yang yelled before she saw Ruby.

"We've got to get her someplace safe," Weiss gasped, "We have too."

"OK, we've got this covered, get to the ships. They'll keep you safe." Blake answered, putting a hand on the heriess's shoulder. Weiss nodded as she started running, both Blake and Yang shared a look before running back towards the tower. They really hoped that Jaune was doing better than they were…

 **At the tower…**

Jaune leaned against a pile of rubble, arrows sticking out of his armor.

"I'm impressed," Cinder said as she stared at the teen, "It took the full power of the Maiden to pierce that armor."

Jaune coughed as he fell to the floor, blood splattering the pavement as he did. The pain was overwhelming him, his eyes where glazing over.

"I wonder," The woman said as she stared at the teen, "Why didn't you use the Berserk Dust? It seems like you might have had a chance with it."

The knight dragged himself forward, not realizing where he was going, until his hand brushed something, something metallic. Jaune looked up to see it, Pyrrha's headband, shield, and sword. Cinder must of brought them together as a trophy, the knights hand closed on band. He pulled it closer, the metal shined in the moonlight. Pyrrha…his lovely Spartan, his amazon, the woman who had been taken from him.

Jaune snarled once again, dragging himself to his feet. He looked at Cinder, who smiled as she summoned her bow. He grabbed Pyrrha's blade, before roaring as he charged, Cinder loosed another arrow, which Jaune twisted and allowed to pierce his shoulder. The knight charged in, before ducking and sweeping Cinder's legs, knocking her down.

The knight leapt up, stabbing the blade into Cinder, who merely summoned a glass shield to protect herself. The blow sent her into the ground, cracking the stone, Cinder growled as she twisted her leg, kicking Jaune across the jaw. The teen growled as he leapt back, the woman jumping to her feet as well, only to yelp as a huge gear came at her.

Cinder ducked under the hunk of metal, only to find Jaune waiting there to grab her and slam her into his knee. The woman gasped as Jaune threw her up, before slamming her into the ground once again. Cinder yelled as she used the Maidens power to rocket her self out of the situation, she whirled around to see Jaune grabbing his big blade.

Cinder landed, her eyes full of rage as she drew up her bow, Jaune roared as he threw Pyrrha's shield at Cinder's arrow. The woman almost laughed, it was the same way that his love died…only this time, Jaune, with a roar of might, swung his sword and shattered the arrow. The woman yelped as Jaune surged forward, knocking her down. Cinder's eyes snapped up to see the knight standing over her, sword in hand.

Jaune stared into her eyes, his teeth bared, and he brought the blade down. Cinder closed her eyes, expecting death, only to feel the rush of air next to her. The woman opened her eyes to see…the blade in the ground next to her. Jaune stared at her, before laughing, laughing so loud it sounded like a maniac.

"What's so funny?" Cinder asked, her confusion evident.

"It's funny…I don't want to kill you," Jaune laughed out as he grabbed Cinder by her dress, pulling her up to his level, "I want you to watch…I want you to watch as everything you worked so hard to build crumbles and burns to your namesake."

He threw her down.

"I want you to suffer, I want you to know what it feels like to have everything taken from you, everything you worked so hard for to disappear in a flash." The knight laughed as he walked towards the still frozen dragon.

"That's a nice though, but what makes you think you can win?" Cinder said with a laugh.

"Simple…Salam is weakened by these events, she won't have the strength to rise up for a while. This dragon? Well…" Jaune said as his left hand suddenly transformed, a barrel produced. Green energy glowed…and was fired, a plasma ball consumed the dragon…destroying it completely. Cinder stared at the event in shock…no…this wasn't possible. He couldn't know about Salam, he couldn't have destroyed the dragon…this…this wasn't' possible.

Jaune turned to her with a savage grin.

"Go…leave, remember this day…the day that I beat you." The knight said before turning to face the now dawning sun, Cinder got to her feet. She growled as she summoned up her bow…only for a hand to encase hers, the woman turned to face…Emerald.

"Come on Cinder, it's over, let's go home." The thief whispered, Cinder looked at Jaune…before turning away. Emerald was right, it was over…but…at least she had someone left. She wasn't alone again, she hadn't been abandoned. As the pair left, Emerald looked at Jaune.

"Thank you…" She whispered, turning to leave. Jaune nodded as they left, the sun basking his face as stared at the carnage below. He pulled out his scroll and opened it.

"Jaune," Ironwoods voice filled the air, "The Grimm are falling back, my scouts are reporting that they're heading towards the wilderness. Did you succeed in killing Cinder?"

"She won't be a problem anymore." The knight answered.

"My guards are also reporting that Emerald Sustrei has escaped, have you seen any sign of her? She might have come to try and help Cinder." Ironwood asked again, having a good idea of how she got out.

"No…I haven't seen her, before you ask, the dragon is dead too." Jaune answered, his voice monotone.

"Good, so then…are you coming back to base?" The general asked, his voice low and deep.

"We both know the answer to that," Jaune said with a laugh, "You already tried to put a tracker in me, I carved it out already."

"I had a feeling you would," Ironwood said with a calm voice, "Jaune…come back, I can assure you that you will face no penelties for what has transpired these past few months. Just come back to your friends, they'll need you."

"General, I'm calling for one reason," The knight said, "I don't want you, I don't want to kill you. I want the man who lied to us, I want the man who kept secrets from us, I want the man who was willing to sacrifice a young woman for his goals."

"Jaune…" Ironwood said in a warning tone.

"I don't want you general, I want Ozpin." Jaune whispered, before crushing his scroll.

 **A few hours later…**

"I can't believe Jaune left us again," Nora pouted as she, Ren, and RWBY walked towards the tent, "I thought we were getting back together."

"Nora, I'd assume that he had good reasons." Ren answered, Nora sighed as she leaned into the teens shoulder. The group stopped as they came to RWBY's tent…and saw a bunch of people standing outside their tent.

"What's going on?" Ruby asked as they got closer, one of the people, a guard turned to her.

"A…thing dropped something off here, we were told to only let your team in." The woman said as she gestured into the tent, Ruby looked at her oddly before entering. The team all stopped at the sight, a small girl, wrapped in a white cloak. She had black hair…but the umistakable eyes of the Arc line…

 **And it's done, now I will give a slight update on this story's progress. I still intend to finish it up before volume four premiers on the 23** **rd** **(I'm not a FIRST member) but with my school scedual being the way it is, that might not be possible. Second, keep on reviewing and reading, the end is in sight. There will be two more chapters and a epilogue (Though, that might be in the last chapter).**

 **Now before you review this and ask/or complain about Cinder, here is a quick thesis. For those of you who don't know, RT officially confirmed that Cinder Fall is, in fact, based off of Cinderella. My theory is that, like Cinderella, she was abandoned and abused by her family until a "godmother," (Salam) came in and raised her up. I think that she isn't inherently evil but has been manipulated and abused into becoming evil.**

 **Other than that, thanks for reading.**


	9. Chapter 9

**OK, quick authors note, this chapter contains a rape scene, almost right off the bat. For those of you who are uncomfterble with this, jump to the part with the bold text. I understand if some of you find it uncouth and unnecessary, but please remember that this is inspired by Berserk (For those of you who didn't figure it out, I'll talk a bit more about this later.)**

"Jaune Arc," the teen slowly raised his head at the sound of the voice, a smooth and silky one that roused him from his slumber. He quickly wished he hadn't, he was in hell. Grimm shifted and stirred all around him, their red eyes boring into his soul as he struggled against his bonds. Black metal cut into his arms as he screamed to the red sky in horror, "Please…don't scream, you'll only agitate them."

Jaune quickly whirled his head around to get a view of the speaker, it appeared to be a woman, with white skin, black veins, and the same piercing red eyes of the Grimm. She smiled as she moved closer, the Grimm all making a path for her. Her black dress fluttered as she got closer, her hand gently caressed Jaune's cheek. The teen flinched at the woman's touch, the woman didn't seem insulted…more enraptured by it.

"I've watched you Jaune," The woman whispered as she ran her hand along his body, Jaune looked down to see himself nude, "I've watched you since you joined Beacon, ever since you decided to fight against the Grimm."

"You've enraptured me for a long time," The woman continued as she stared into his eyes, "Why would an innocent soul like you fight so hard in a war that was none of his business? Why would fate determine that he would end up with Pyrrha Nikos?"

Jaune growled at the woman mentioning her name, the woman merely smiled as he struggled against the chains that held him fast.

"I felt you're hatred as she was slain," The woman said as she leaned in, "Your hate…for everyone, for Ozpin risking her, for Cinder killing her, for Ruby not being fast enough, for Weiss not being powerful enough…and for you not being strong enough."

"Shut up," Jaune said in a pathetic whisper, "Shut up…"

"Oh…I'm far from done," The woman said as she leaned back, "I saw how your hatred of the people who hurt you twisted inside of you like a knife, tearing out your once humble heart. Now…you seek to find a key to what might be your vengeance."

"Shut up!" Jaune yelled, pulling at his bonds once more.

"I could taste your misery," The woman said as she grabbed Jaune and pulled herself closer, "I could drink it, I could barely contain myself. My Grimm didn't just want to find you, they didn't want to kill you…they wanted you to mount them, to feel your agony first hand."

"What the hell are you talking about? Grimm only exist to feed on us…" Jaune said in astonishment, right before choking as the woman suddenly grabbed him and pulled him into a kiss. The knight clamped his jaws tight, trying to bite the woman's tongue. The woman pulled out, a slight amount of blood running out of her mouth. She smiled, the blood staining her teeth as she laughed.

"Hold him down." The woman ordered, the Grimm around them shifted as two Grimm with tentacles came forward, each grabbing two limbs. They slowly spread his legs apart, the woman approached and looked at his nude body. She slowly drew her hands across his chest, stopping at his member. The woman crawled onto his chest, her smile never leaving her face.

She moved herself up to his face, forcing him to look deep into her eyes. The eyes of a predator filled his soul as she moved her hips, the knight yelling at himself as his body reacted. His cock stiffening as she hovered over it, the woman motioned her lips as she slowly lowered herself down. Jaune yelled as he felt the warmth encapsulate him, the woman reveling in the sounds. She bounced herself, grinding him, she grabbed his ass and pulled. The knight could feel the nails of the woman digging into his flesh, the woman reveling in his agony.

She let go and grabbed his hips, forcing him to buck into her, the knight screaming all the while. Jaune could feel his body reacting, his cock readying for the final conclusion. The woman could tell it was approaching as well, for she locked her legs around him, forcing him to release inside of her. She screamed in ecstasy as he did it, her climax hitting after his.

Jaune fell to the floor, his body covered in sweat as the woman slowly got to her feet. She looked over the fallen teen and smiled once more, she turned to her minions.

 **And rape is over…you may continue…**

"This is mine, none of you get to have him," She ordered, the Grimm growled, but turned away and left them. She leaned down and grabbed Jaune's left arm, biting down on it, "Now…you're mine Jaune Arc…and that's what you'll always be."

"Pyrrha…" Jaune whispered as the woman turned away, "I'm so sorry."

Suddenly, a cracking sound filled the air, the woman whirled around to see what appeared to be a fractured mirror. The mirror fractured more…until it shattered, and a figure filled the light. It was huge, riding a horse, wearing a skull and armor that was made of bone. It held up a huge blade as it charged, swinging at the woman, who merely dodged it.

The horse rider ran past her, grabbing the teens limp body and throwing it unto its horse. It whirled around and kept running, right past the woman into the white light. The woman watched as the pair disappeared, before smiling. She had what she came for, both of them in fact. She wouldn't finish this war, she didn't have the power anymore, Ozpin had made sure of that. She had ensured that Jaune would be her greatest masterpiece…and that his seed was within her.

Jaune woke up on the cold pavement of the arena, next to the dead body of Penny. His goal, his arm ached as he looked over to see the bite mark in his flesh. The knight looked up to see…it, the being wearing bone. He yelped as he jumped to his feet, raising his hands in a feeble defense. The being looked at him…before shaking its head, almost in sorrow.

Jaune's posture relaxed, he didn't know why…but it felt like the being didn't mean him any harm.

"Who are you?" The knight asked, the being faced Jaune once again. It didn't reply, "Going for the mystery man?"

The being still did not answer.

"Great…Well…I guess I need to thank you," Jaune said as he looked around, "You brought me here, to my objective and you saved me…I am in your debt."

Jaune started to say more, but suddenly his hand started burning. His eyes snapped to his left arm, the bite mark had started steaming off black smoke. He could feel the burning crawling in his blood, it was moving up. The knight had heard of this before…of the Grimm corruption, of its agony. The knight's head snapped towards the being in front of him, he wasn't going to let this stop him…

Those people who caused this…they needed to pay, Ozpin, Adam…those two had to die. He had seen what Cinder was…he couldn't kill her, but he had to be alive to finish this. His eyes snapped to the beings sword, there was only one way to stop the corruption. Jaune ran over and grabbed the sword, lifting it up and slashing his arm. The blade was serrated, so he just kept sawing away. It was akin to a chainsaw, slicing through his arm in seconds.

The being stepped towards him, catching him as he fell.

"You stupid fool…" Jaune could swear he heard Pyrrha's voice as he fell into the blackness, well…this wasn't the worst way to die…at least he'd get to finally see her again.

Jaune woke in a cold sweat, grabbing his sword as he rocketed up…a dream…only a dream. A dream of that night, he wiped his face clean as he got up. He was in a forest, dawn was approaching as he stomped out his fire. It had been three months since his destruction of the dragon, in those three months, the kingdoms had come together to rebuild. There was still debate amongst them about who should be punished, who should be awarded, but for now…everything was safe.

Jaune Arc, however, remained controversial amongst people, someone had leaked the limited information on him to the public and it seemed like everyone thought he was either a psychopath or a black angel. The swordsman, however, ignored the talk, he could hear it anytime he walked through a town, endless debates and worthless banter.

He didn't care, all he knew was his destination, Jaune had found a list of possible hideouts for Ozpin in his computer and had been working his way down the list. The sun was coming up over the trees, he was in a forest. It was early morning, the birds sang as he grabbed his bag and kicked out his fire. It would have been beautiful, had Jaune the energy to care. The swordsman started walking, his eyes staying on the ground in front of him.

Memories still flooded to him, of that night, the night after when he dragged Penny back, that night with Neo…Jaune quickly shook that out of his head. She would have had her baby by now, good…hopefully it was healthy. He couldn't go back, though, he knew that for sure. Jaune knew what he had become, he was not suited to be a father. His eyes snapped up suddenly, his breath held.

He suddenly raised his blade, blocking a gust of lightning. Jaune rolled away, before whirling around to see his assailant. It was a woman, she wore black and red as well as a Grimm mask. Her hand bore a katana, one that had a deep red tinge to it. Jaune snarled as he looked her over, he know who she was.

"Jaune Arc," The woman said as she started to circle him, "Cease this fool's errand at once."

"Oh really? Why should I?" The teen replied, his grip on his weapon tightening.

"The war is over, you've won…you don't need to add Ozpin to your list of victims." The woman answered, taking a step back as she readied a blow.

"That's a laugh," Jaune said as he followed her movements, "Coming from you, I've heard of the dead bodies you've left in your wake."

"Jaune…killing Ozpin isn't the right path, of all the things you've done, this one will bring nothing but pain and ruin…" The woman said right before Jaune cut her off.

"Shut up!" He yelled, "I won't let you lecture me on right and wrong, you have no right!"

Jaune charged as he swung his sword, the woman raising hers to block it. A bad move on her part, as the blade sent her flying. She landed on her feet, however, and charged back in to swing again. Jaune blocked it and the two stared into each other's eyes, Jaune's snarl meeting with the woman's calm in-difference.

"You abandoned your own daughter!" He yelled as he shoved her back, following up with a swing that caught her and sent her into a tree. She landed on her feet and dodged another slash, "You let her be hung to dry by the public!"

"You don't know what you're talking about…" The woman said as she slashed Jaune across the chest, the blade doing nothing to the armor. Jaune growled as he rammed into her, dragging his blade up and catching her in the chest again. The woman stood her ground and followed up with quick slashes at the teen, he merely raised his sword to deflect them off.

"I do…Raven, I read all of Ozpin's files," Jaune yelled as he slashed again, this time the woman ducked under it and slashed at his stomach as she rolled past. The blade, once again, failed to pierce the armor. The teen growled as he leapt back, clearing enough room to bring his blade around, the tip gently touching the ground as it came around, narrowly missing Raven, "I know that you left her own daughter, that you've been hunting the White Fang for years now. I know why you left, and you make me sick!"

Raven quickly dove in, kicking the teen in the face, hoping to disorient him. The teen shook it off as he grabbed the woman, throwing her away. He followed up as he leapt into the air, slamming his foot into the woman's chest, sending her to the ground. Jaune raised his foot again, Raven tried to reach for her blade that had been sent away from her grasp, only to realize that it was just out of her reach.

A shot rang out, forcing Jaune back, he landed with a growl as his eyes found the assailant. He groaned as he did.

"Well…Raven, you've lost your touch." The man in grey said as he took a swig from his hip flask.

"Shut up Qrow," She muttered as she got to her feet, "How did you find me?"

"Easy, I just followed the sounds of total bitch," The man said as he readied his weapon, currently in sword form, "Jaune…I didn't expect to ever see you."

"Same here," Jaune growled, "Get out of my way."

"Afraid I can't do that," Qrow said as he took a step forward, "You see, me and Ozpin are old friends…I can't just let you kill him."

"Then I'm sorry for what's about to happen," The teen snarled, "I'm afraid Ruby's going to lose a role model."

Jaune charged forward, Qrow shifting to the side to avoid the blade. Normally, this would have confused his opponent, but Jaune was far too enraged to care. He simply pushed forward, his sword acting like a plow as he shouldered Qrow. The older man whirled around, attempting to slash at his opponent. Jaune merely ducked out of the way, the teen rolling out of the way.

Qrow jumped back, landing back near Raven as she got to her feet. The teen stared at them both, readying himself for them to make a move.

"Qrow…" Raven started before the man cut her off.

"I know, we have to work together, just like old times." The man said as he readied his blade.

"It's not just that," Raven said as she stuck her blade into her sheath, drawing it out with fire glowing in it, "He hasn't used the Beast Dust."

"Really?" Qrow asked, "That's a bit concerning."

"I need you to distract him, his armor's tough but I think I can get through it." The woman said as she looked at her super-heated blade.

"Got it…I guess I'm pretty good at distracting people." The man said with a laugh as he slowly moved in, Raven setting herself up to attack. Jaune growled as the man approached, his eyes not leaving Qrow's face. The man stopped, grinned, before yelling as he charged in. Jaune raised his weapon to block Qrows, the man's smaller blade bouncing off the black swordsman huge one.

The former white knight swung his sword again, only for Qrow to lean back and dodge it. The older man then followed up by back flipping, kicking Jaune in the process, and then jumping in to deal a blow across the teen's chest. Jaune felt the blow as he took a step back, only to sally forth with his own hard chop. Qrow rolled out of the way, allowing the dirt to come up.

Jaune looked around, his hand tight on his blade. Qrow must have known this was going to happen, the dust could covering his tracks. Jaune's head turned sharply as he heard footsteps approaching, a red hot blade coming into his vision. He turned…only to have a blow come down on the back of his right knee, a quick glance revealed the wily man's grin.

Jaune's eyes snapped back to the blade as it pierced his shoulder, the teen didn't make a sound as it pierced his flesh. His eyes went up to Ravens, the woman staring into them expecting pain and defeat. The knight didn't even flinch at that, instead, he reached up with his left hand and grabbed the blade. The metal on his hand resisting the plasma heated blade as he pulled it out, Raven's eyes widened as she saw this, but before she could react…Jaune slammed his head backwards, slamming it into Qrow's.

The teen growled as Raven noticed the blade starting to crack and buckle, only to yelp as it broke. Jaune surged forward, grabbing the woman before she could react. She screamed as Jaune did what he did next, jamming the still hot blade into her side.

"Raven!" Qrow yelled as Jaune tossed her aside like a rag doll before he turned to face the older man, Qrow took a step back. This wasn't right, why didn't Jaune react when the blade pierced his flesh? He hadn't used the Beast Dust, the man's thoughts were interrupted when Jaune charged forward. Jaune growled as the limber opponent jumped back, a frown on his face.

"Jaune…stop this," Qrow said, holding his hand up in an attempt to calm the teen down, "We can go back to Beacon, we can talk this over, and I assure you…we can get justice for Pyrrha."

"No you won't," The teen growled as he started circling around the older man, "Ozpin will just be remembered as a hero, all his accomplishments will be revealed and he'll be set free. The world won't believe that he should be held responsible for her."

"I can see that you're not going to stand down," Qrow muttered as he looked into the teen's wild eyes, he had seen the look multiple times before, on people like himself, "But I can't let you do that…"

As he finished, his weapon extended, a large scythe appearing in his hand. The kid gloves had come off, it was time to finish this. He charged in, screaming and slashing. Jaune roared as he met the charge with one of his own, their blades clashed, sending sparks out in all directions. Qrow tried to find openings in Jaune's defenses, but Jaune just kept coming. The older knew exactly what Jaune was doing, he was trying to keep his close enough so Qrow couldn't swing properly.

Too bad for Jaune that Qrow didn't get to be old without learning a few tricks, the old man suddenly dove between Jaune's leg, catching the teens leg and dragging him down. Jaune fell to the forest floor with a mighty clash, his groan echoing as Qrow jumped into the air. Jaune didn't have time to turn around as the man came down, Jaune gasped in pain as he saw the huge blade erupt from his chest.

Qrow had stabbed him, stabbed him in the back with a huge blade. The old man looked at the body with sad eyes, the kid didn't deserve this, and especially since he had…the man's thoughts were disrupted as Jaune suddenly turned around and seized him by the throat.

"I'm not going to die so easily!" Jaune yelled as he slammed Qrow into the ground, the man gasping as he landed. Jaune reached behind himself and pulled out the blade, the wound healing.

"Damn…missed your vital organs…" Qrow groaned as Jaune picked him up, pulling him to his face. The two stared into each other's eyes…right before Jaune growled and raised the man up. He growled as he brought his left hand up and placed it against Qrow's chest, the arm transformed into its cannon. Qrow didn't have time to make a quip as the cannon fired, sending him flying across the ground. A burn mark on his chest, "What?"

"I don't want to kill you," Jaune growled as he righted himself, raising his cannon up, "I can adjust its power. I'll give you a warning, don't try to stop me. Next time, I'll set it to kill."

"Jaune," Qrow muttered as he got to his feet, grabbing a nearby tree for support, "Please…come back, team RWBY misses you."

"It's too late for me," Jaune growled as he turned, "They're better off without me."

"Jaune…come back…your children are waiting." Qrow begged, hoping that this would at least put some doubt.

"Children? I should only have…" Jaune said as he stopped, looking at the ground, "Unless…heh…I guess she succeeded then."

"Jaune, the child is yours, and hers," Qrow gasped as he took a step forward, "But it's not evil, come home…raise it…"

"No…I've seen it in my dreams," Jaune said with a laugh, "She's better off with Ruby and Weiss."

"Jaune…" Qrow said again, only for Jaune to keep walking forward, "JAUNE!"

The knight vanished as he went deeper, leaving Qrow and Raven alone. Qrow walked over to the woman and fell down to look at her wound, he sighed a sigh of relief as he realized it wasn't serious.

"Qrow…do you think he can do it?" Raven whispered as she looked at the man.

"I don't know," Qrow said as he leaned over and grabbed his weapon, only look strongly at the blood, "Hang on…"

Raven's eyebrows rose as she saw him run his hand along his blade, rubbing the blood between his fingers.

"No wonder…" The man muttered.

"What?" Raven asked, her voice concerned.

"His blood…it's thinner than it should be a sign of the Beast Dust," Qrow replied as he turned, "One of the long term effects is losing the ability to feel physical sensations…I think Jaune can barely feel any physical contact anymore."

"That explains why he didn't use the Beast Dust, he didn't need it, he was already fighting without limits." The woman said as she crawled to a tree and rested her head.

"Yeah…but it also means one other thing…" Qrow muttered, "Jaune's dying, I don't think he has much time left…"

 **A few weeks later…**

Jaune stared at the base, his head covered with a white hood. This was the last base, and he knew Ozpin was here…he could feel it.

"Jaune!" A voice came from behind him, he whirled around to see team RWBY standing behind him, Ruby was speaking, and "Jaune…we found you."

"No…go home…" Jaune growled as he turned to enter the metal doors.

"No Jaune," Ruby said as she pulled out her weapon, "You're coming home…with us, to your family."

"I can't…" Jaune growled, turning around suddenly and throwing a small sphere at them.

"Flashbang!" Blake yelled, the group averting their eyes. The flash went off, and the team's all snapped towards the entrance, now open. Jaune was working at the computer.

"Ruby!" The three girls yelled, Ruby nodding as she surged forward. The doors starting closing, but the red head managed to make it through. She landed in a large warehouse with a grunt, only to have a hand grab her by her hood.

"Why are you?!" Jaune yelled into her face, Ruby was taken aback by his rage, "Why are you trying to stop me?!"

"Because…you're my friend!" Ruby yelled back, reaching for him, "I can't let you do this, come home…let this go."

As she said that, she pushed off his hood…and gasped. Jaune's hair was pitch black, his eye's glazed over, his beard running down his chest, and his breathing ragged. Ruby's eyes filled with tears…no…it was too late.

"I'm sorry Ruby," Jaune said quietly as he reached behind his back, "I can't stop…not yet…it's more than Pyrrha now."

Jaune pulled out a device and stuck it on her shirt, a blue force field encasing her as she fell to her knees. He turned to regard the third man in the room.

"Mr. Arc," Ozpin said, "I've been waiting for you."

Both stared at each other, this was it…this was the finale. Jaune snarled, it would end here, his pain, his sorrow, his rage, and his guilt.

 **And that chapter is over. I apologize for not getting this done sooner, some things came up and it took longer than expected. I might have the final chapter uploaded before the premier of Volume 4, but I wouldn't hold your breath.**

 **On a different topic, I know that everyone has been asking me this and I think it's time to clear it up. Yes, this is a Berserk inspired story, as for why it's not in the Crossover category there is a reason. The reason is that, in my opinion, a cross over is when something from a universe makes a complete crossover, like Gut's showing up in RWBY or Jaune showing up in Berserk. This story is in that grey area, and I don't think it fits into the full crossover category.**

 **Anyways, enough of that, once again, thank you all for reading this story, the finale is coming up. Stay tuned! (Also, I don't know how well I wrote it, but please, for the love of all is holy, if you found the rape scene erotic, please don't jerk of to it.)**


	10. Chapter 10

"Ozpin…" Jaune growled as he started to circle the headmaster, his teeth grinding into each other.

"Jaune…you've done well," The man said as he took a drink from his mug, "You've defeated Cinder, you've defeated the dragon, you've even defeated Salam, please…let us return to Vale."

"Shut up," The teen growled as he took a step forward, "I'm not done dealing with monsters, I've got one more in front of me."

"Jaune…I assure you, I did not intend for Ms. Nikos to die…" Ozpin started before Jaune cut him off.

"I don't give a damn about what you intended," Jaune growled as he pointed his blade at the director, "You let her die."

"Jaune…please, would Pyrrha have wanted this?" The man said, his eyes betraying nothing.

"This isn't about what she wants…hell…now that I'm looking at you, I realize that this isn't what I want," Jaune said with a laugh. Ozpin smiled before Jaune started again, "All this time…I wanted to kill you, I told myself that it was because of Pyrrha…now that I see your face, I realize the real reason I want you dead."

Ozpin shifted his weight, Ruby's eyes widened as Jaune turned to face her with a smile.

"It's for her…and her family," The teen said with a laugh as he turned back to Ozpin, "I don't want you dead for revenge…I want you dead so that you can NEVER hurt my friends and family again. I won't let you use them as pawns for YOUR SICK GAMES!"

Jaune yelled as he charged forward, slamming his sword at the director. Ozpin sidestepped it, his glass of coffee not even spilling as he turned. The director raised his cane and smacked Jaune across the face, more of a love tap than a real blow.

"Jaune…I assure, my students are my highest priority…" Ozpin tried to say before Jaune roared and slammed his shoulder into the director. The man was taken aback by the teens speed, dropping his Beacon mug onto the floor.

"No they weren't," Jaune said with a growl, "You just wanted them for your war with Salam, you would sacrifice them at a moment's notice. Just like you did with all the rest."

"Jaune…I don't know what you're talking about…" The director started before the teen cut him off with a slash to the chest, Ozpin's aura taking the brunt of the blow.

"What about Summer huh? Where is she now? What about the people like her? You sure didn't try to save them!" Jaune growled, Ruby gasped at the mention of her mother. That…was impossible, how could Jaune know anything about that.

"I never intended for her to…" Ozpin began, only to deflect a blow from Jaune.

"For her to what? To die on a mission? I read your report, I know everything. I know about more than just that, I know about the Berserker armor and your intentions for it." The teen growled as he swung again, the blow being dodged by Ozpin yet again.

"Jaune…you're confused, please…let me help you…" Ozpin began, only for Jaune to swung himself around and connect a blow to his chest, sending him flying.

"No…I'm just going to finish this before you hurt anyone else!" Jaune yelled as he jumped into the air, Ozpin rolled out of the way. Jaune's blade cleaved into the steel wall before he pulled it out, yelling as he did. Ozpin merely ducked out of the way of the savage blow. The director raised his cane, he knew that there would be no reasoning with Jaune now. It was time for action, even if he would regret it.

Ozpin charged forward, slamming his cane into Jaune's gut before kicking him across the face. Jaune followed up with a full on haymaker into Ozpins jaw, the director felt at least on tooth break as he was sent reeling. Ozpin looked back up to see Jaune kick him again, sending him flying across the room again. The man landed on his feet before charging forward to meet Jaune, the director ducked underneath the teen's slash and followed up with a blow to Jaune's knee.

The teen fell down and Ozpin jumped up and slammed his cane into the back of Jaune's head, the teen groaned as he felt the blow. Jaune then proceeded to whirl around and sweep Ozpin's legs, sending him to the ground. The teen climbed on top of Ozpin and started punching wildly into the man's face, Ruby could hear the blows echo throughout the building as Ozpin felt his nose break and more teeth fall out.

The man groaned as he suddenly slammed his cane across Jaune's face, feeling a bit of satisfaction as he felt the crunch of bone, getting the teen off of him. The director quickly tried to slam his cane into the teen's back, only for Jaune to leap to his feet. The teen slammed his sword down, Ozpin merely dodging it and following up by hitting Jaune's hand, forcing it to drop the huge blade.

Jaune growled as he swung out wildly, only for Ozpin to dodge it and follow up by ramming his cane into Jaune's gut. The teen didn't budge as he suddenly reached out and grabbed Ozpin by the throat, the man gasped as the knight started squeezing.

"Just die you son of a bitch." Jaune growled as he kept squeezing, Ozpin could feel his world going black. The director suddenly grabbed his can and pressed a button, a bullet suddenly hit Jaune and sent him back, losing his grip for the director to escape. Jaune growled once again as he tried to slam into Ozpin, only for the man to slip out of the teens reach. The knight took one step forward and suddenly heard a beeping sound, his eyes whirled to his feet.

A laser tripwire…and he had just set it off. Jaune roared as the explosives went off, sending him flying into a bunch of nearby shelving. The metal all feel around him, Jaune groaned in pain as he felt it pierce various parts of his flesh, his chest filling with shrapnel as another explosive went off, his legs being pelted with the very same shrapnel.

Ozpin looked at his gruesome handiwork, the dust rising as he looked for a sign of life. He sighed as he turned to Ruby.

"Let's get you out of that…" The man began before he heard shifting in the rubble, he turned to see Jaune sitting there. His left arm was pinned by the metal, various bits and pieces sticking out of it. It was pinned to the ground, it had no escape. The rest of Jaune didn't look much better, the blood slowly pooled beneath him, pouring from various wounds. He coughed loudly, blood splattering the ground. The teen slowly looked up, his face was covered in lacerations, and his damaged eye had been ripped open as well.

"Mr. Arc…" Ozpin started, only for Jaune to scream at him in rage. He suddenly lurched forward, breaking off the metal that was pinning his body. He suddenly stopped as his left arm got caught, he looked at it and then back at Ozpin. He growled as he started pulling as hard as he could, "Mr. Arc…please, don't…"

Ozpin was stopped when he saw what has happening, the metal wasn't budging…but the flesh was. Jaune growled as he pulled harder and harder, blood spurting as he ripped the arm off. He screamed aloud as he pulled away, ripping the last few bits of connecting flesh. The teen's eyes snapped to Ozpin as he howled, reaching and pulling out something all three of them used. Pyrrha's sword shined as the blood dripped off of it, Jaune surged forward.

Ozpin raised his cane, expecting to deflect it. The blade connected with Ozpin's cane…and the cane shattered, the directors eyes widened as, in what felt like slow motion, he saw the blade coming closer and closer until…it connected with his aura. A bright flash began as Jaune screamed once more…and Ozpin felt pain in his stomach.

The director looked down and saw…the bronze blade in his gut, Jaune roared as he lifted the man up into the air. Ozpin looked at Jaune one last time in shock, before he looked away. The man smiled internally…he was right about Jaune after all it seems. Jaune roared as he slammed Ozpin down, ripping out the blade and slamming his foot onto Ozpin's neck. Ruby flinched as she heard the crack, Jaune looked at his gruesome work before he turned to Ruby.

He slowly moved forward, dropping Pyrrha's blade as he did. He looked at his remaining arm before raising it to his teeth and biting down, the bubble around Ruby vanished. Jaune looked at Ruby…right before he collapsed.

"Jaune!" Ruby yelled as she ran over, Jaune slowly turned his head to her.

"Ruby…I'm…I'm sorry." The teen whispered as he looked into her eyes.

"Jaune…just hold on, help is on the way." The girl whispered as she looked up, realizing that the door was slowly opening.

"No…No it's too late for me," Jaune whispered, a small smile filling his face, "Don't….worry…I'm…ready."

"Jaune…don't go, please," Ruby begged, tears running down her face as she leaned closer, "Don't die! I can't lose you, I…can't lost someone else."

"Ruby…" Jaune said with a laugh, "Sorry…to sound…a…bit cliché…but…I always keep an eye on you."

"Jaune….please…don't go…" Ruby screamed as she looked around.

"Pyrrha? Is that you?" Jaune whispered suddenly, his eyes glazing over as he looked around.

"Jaune what are you…" The young girl asked before stopping herself, "Yeah…it's me…I'm here."

"I…I did it…I protected…our…friends…" Jaune whispered before his head shifted to the side, a smile on his war torn face.

"Jaune…Jaune?" Ruby asked, "JAUNE!"

The girl's head suddenly snapped up as she heard footsteps approaching, a figure in what looked like bone armor stood before her. It looked at Jaune with what appeared to be sad eyes, it started reaching towards him.

"Don't you come any closer…" Ruby growled as she unfurled her weapon, the being seemed not to notice as it kept coming, "Get away from him!"

Ruby swung her scythe…only for it to stop inches away from the beings skin, she pushed and pushed…but she didn't make any progress. The metal wouldn't come any closer, it felt like pushing against a…magnet. The girl suddenly stopped as she looked at the being…

"Pyr…Pyrrha?" Ruby whispered, only for the being to turn towards her. It reached its hands up…and pulled off its mask, red hair fell out as it did.

"Ruby!" Weiss's voice shocked the girl out of her stupor, Ruby turned to see the rest of RWBY coming to her, "Are you OK? That thing managed to open the door and…"

The rest of the gang stopped as they looked ahead and saw what Ruby had seen, the being holding Jaune Arc. The young man stirred as he opened his eyes, his mouth opening into a smile as he saw her. He raised his left hand to touch her cheek, only to stop and realize that it was his real flesh. The Spartan giggled as she pulled him closer…and a light filled the room and when it was gone…Pyrrha Nikos and her knight Jaune Arc were gone.

 **Ten Years Later…**

"After that, using the information that Jaune had passed on, Salam's allies were captured," Ruby said to the class she was looking over, the group enthralled by the tale, "They were all either imprisoned or executed, the world did it's best to rebuild after that. However, the world itself would take longer to decide on how to remember Jaune Arc."

"Professor Rose?" A voice asked, Ruby's eyes went to a blond girl in the back.

"Yes Ms.…" Ruby looked at her roster, "Arc…what is your question?"

"Did they ever find Cinder Fall?" The girl asked.

"No they did not," Ruby said with a sigh, "But after investigation into Ozpin's history, the search was called off. A bit of an apology for what she had been through, but, alas, that's classified so I can't tell you.

The girl looked like she was about to ask something else, but the bell rung out over the class.

"Looks like class is over," The woman said as she looked over the group as they packed their bags, "Remember, I expect the report next week."

The class groaned as they started moving out, clearing out all but one. The blonde girl walked up to Ruby and, without saying anything, suddenly grabbed the professor in a hug.

"I just wish he was here now…" She whispered as she let go, "I miss him…"

"Are you going to visit it?" Ruby asked with a sad smile.

"No…I already did." The girl asked as she walk off, leaving Ruby to her lonesome. The woman sighed as she packed her bag, today was that day…the day that she remembered every year. Ruby walked out the door into the hallway, moving past the laughing students, each talking about their lives. Who was mad at who, who fucked who, who was going to the dance, who wasn't…child stuff was what occurred to Ruby as she walked, but she didn't object…after all…she was the same way.

"Mommy!" A voice rang out, shattering Ruby's thoughts. A ten year old girl suddenly jumped and latched herself onto Ruby's chest, the professor gasped as she barely stood her ground.

"Hey Joan," The woman laughed as she hugged her back, "How's your day going?"

"It was great! Me and mommy two got some ice cream!" The black haired, blue eyed girl said with a giggle.

"Then we came here," Weiss's voice gained both of the pairs attention, "It's time Ruby, everyone is waiting."

"I know, I just had to finish up my class," Ruby said with a sad smile as she reached into her pack and pulled out a set of red and white roses, "Let's go."

"Are we going to see daddy now?" Joan asked, sadness creeping into her voice.

"Yeah…we are." Ruby said as she picked up the little girl, hugging her close. The trio moved their way throughout Beacon, the people all moving out of their way. The trio exited the building and headed towards a grotto near the airship dock, they rounded a corner and almost jumped out of their skins. The whole gang was here, Nora, Ren, Blake, and Sun, Qrow and Winter, Raven, all of them. Blake and Sun held a baby with blonde hair and yellow eyes while Nora and Ren held a child with orange hair and purple eyes.

"Hi aunt Ruby!" A young male voice sounded, the crowd clearing to reveal Neo and Yang holding a young boy with blonde hair.

"Hey Leonidas," Weiss said as she strode over, "It's been a while."

"No it hasn't," The boy said with a grin, "We saw each other last week."

"He's been dying to see his sister," Yang said with a grin, "He wouldn't stop talking about it."

"I figured as much." Weiss said with a laugh back, only to stop herself as she turned to face the solid stone statue next to her. It was a stone knight, his sword in the body of a dragon as he leaned against it, his fight finally ending, next to him was a woman. She had her hand on his back, comforting him as her angel wings opened to the sky.

"Ten years," Goodwitch's voice sounded out over the crowd, "I still can barely believe it."

"Director Goodwitch," Ironwoods voice sounded as he walked past her, Penny behind him, albeit with some…upgrades to her appearance, "I believe it's time to pay our respects."

"Indeed." The woman said as she walked to the memorial, putting down a set of purple roses next to the ones that had already been placed, right next to a set of black and green roses. Ironwood followed, placing a set of grey roses, then Penny with a set of neon green roses, Sun and Blake a set of Gold and Black roses, Yang and Neo placed a set of yellow and brown roses, and so on and so forth, until the memorial was covered in a wreath of color. All that remained was Ruby and Weiss, the pair looked at each other and nodded as they placed their own roses upon that great wreath. The group all looked up again as the sun shined down, lighting the angelic woman in a way that made her appear even more angelic.

"Jaune…Pyrrha," Ruby said out loud so that the crowd could hear it, "I hope that you both are happy, that you're looking down on us and smiling. I hope that we are making you proud…say hi to mom for me."

Ruby turned away to the crowd, who all nodded as they slowly turned away. They dispersed, all knowing that tonight was the night for a toast and they needed to prepare. They all passed by a plaque, Ruby stopped to read it one last time for today.

 _Here lies the remains of Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos, lovers reunited in death._

 _Pyrrha was a champion, a fighter, someone to exemplify and who loved others. She died saving the world, she would be gone but not forgotten._

 _Jaune Arc was man who forged his path into Beacon by almost accident, but the world wouldn't be the same without him. He loved everyone, but when the love of his life died, he became the hero that no one expected. He was not a hero that we wanted, but the hero we needed._

 _These two loved each other dearly, may they find peace in death that they didn't have in life._

 **Whew…it's over, I mean…holy shit it's over. I started this as just a one off idea that I never expected to do anything with but we all know how it turned out. Seriously, thank you all for reading this story, it really makes me feel good to entertain all of you.**

 **Also, quick shout out to for the quote "getting Cascad," Seriously, that's hilarious.**

 **And now for the obvious thank you's, first off, Thanks to Zivon96 for giving me feedback and for putting up with my shit when I was writing this.**

 **Thanks to all the members of Rooster Teeth for making this wonderful franchise.**

 **Thanks to Kentaro Miura for writing Berserk and inspiring this story.**

 **Thanks to all of the readers for putting up with this.**

 **And, finally, thanks to Monty Oum for creating this series. May his soul rest in peace.**


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